Born as the 6th child of the family, Samuel was both a surprise and exactly what was expected at the same time. Lynond, Jasper, Rewan, Bryil, and Aurelius before him were all boys, and he was no exception. Samuel is convinced his parents were secretly hoping for a girl but they’ve always denied the allegation.
For the better part of ten arcs Samuel grew up without issue. Outside of some playful sibling rivalry, he seemed well on his way to become another productive member of the Archeidy family. If he drew any attention to himself at all during this time, it was only to commend him for being kind-hearted and well-behaved.
That all changed shortly after his eleventh birthday when he helped bring some groceries to an elderly woman living on the outskirts of town. For reasons he couldn’t explain at the time he felt the urge to return to her home but didn’t do so until about a week later. On his way back home from tuition a severe autumn storm broke loose and he took shelter at old Audra’s home. Just as he’d mustered the courage to knock, the door cracked open and the old lady invited him in. It smelled of pine and firewood inside.
“I remember your face,” she said as she struggled to close the door behind him. “But I don’t recall where from…”
Samuel dabbed the rain from his face with his sleeves and combed a hand through his hair. “I brought you groceries last week, usually my father brings them, but he was sick, a cold I think.”
“Ah,” the woman said as she hung up a large keyring to a pin on the wall and shuffled away from the door. “So you’re one of Lynond’s huh? I can never tell you boys apart.” She stopped before him, glanced down at his muddy boots, then looked back up and squinted at him. “So, which one are you?”
“I’m Samuel,” he said, “the sixth.”
“Goodness, there’s five more of you?” answered the elderly woman as she gestured for him to take off his boots and follow her. A fire crackled in the living room and Samuel noticed a painting of an elderly man above the blackened mantle piece. “Care for some tea?” Audra called from the adjoining kitchen, she’d already filled the kettle. The woman had arrived a widower only a few arcs ago and rarely showed her face in town and Samuel could see why. Audra was thin, bent over with age, and struggled to carry the kettle to the fire with labored breaths. “Here, let me,” he said gently as he came up to her side and carried the copper piece the remaining distance.
They sat, drank and talked about all manner of things while Samuel warmed himself by the fire. Audra spoke of her family, the painting over the mantle piece was her late husband and though she’d borne no children herself she spoke fondly of her sister’s children. “They don’t visit much,” she muttered as the smoldering embers reflected in her eyes. Samuel felt something tug in the pit of his stomach and vowed in silence to see the old woman more often.
A few more trials past before he returned, but after the second visit (where Audra showed him the birds she kept in her home garden) he visited more often until it became an almost daily affair. Then, a season since their first meeting, Samuel came to her house again to find the door locked and the curtains drawn. He knocked several times, called for her, but no response came. Worried, he walked around the house, broke through the hedge and with a pointy stick from her garden managed to pick the backdoor’s simple lock.
He was greeted by waft of warm, stale air and the smell of rot. There was no fire in the hearth and the kitchen looked like it hadn’t been touched in days. “Audra?” he called. Silence at first, then the creaking of floorboards. “Audra? It’s me, Samuel! Are you alright? I’m going to come upstairs, OK?”
The stairs were dark, the hallway was even darker. He’d only been upstairs once before and struggled to remember which of the three rooms was Audra’s bedroom, but the sound of a frayed, rasping breath guided him to the right door.
Covered under a mountain of blankets rested the gray and hollow face of Audra, her white hair draped around her like she’d been laid to rest in a coffin. Samuel shot up to her side fearing the worst when she moved. “You… came…” she croaked, her hand moved up to touch his cheek. He grasped her hand and squeezed it, tears welling in his eyes. “Of course I came… I should’ve come sooner! I will fetch you some water and a doctor!” He was about to move when he felt her squeeze. “S- stay…” Audra breathed. “No time... sit...look at me…” Reluctantly, he obeyed. “Don’t… look… away, until it’s… over...”
Over the course of Audra’s remaining bells on the mortal plane, Samuel’s life was changed forever. He felt a familiar tug in the pit of his stomach, stronger now, unmuted and unrestrained. Even if he’d wanted to look away, he could not muster the will to do so as she rooted him to the spot with just her gaze. Without warning he felt his emotions rise and fall like waves breaking on the shore. Colors flashed before his eyes, memories resurfaced, every secret he’d ever kept was turned over and inspected by some voiceless entity. He felt exposed, naked before the entity that ruthlessly rummaged through his past and pulled strings from latent memories. He bore witness to a young Aurelius standing over his crib with a crass look on his face. “So weak...” Aurelius sneered, then bent down and pinched his skin, hard. “Mommy wanted a girl, not you. You’re just a crybaby.” Another memory resurfaced. He was in bed and sick with fever. “Do you think we’ll lose him, doctor?” he heard his father’s voice. The doctor standing over him shrugged, “well, if you do, you’ll still have your firstborn.” Both men laughed.
One after the other the memories washed over him, many joyous, some sad, and some like a knife through the heart. Then, it ended and Samuel became aware of the cold, dead hand he was holding and the wet streaks down his cheeks.
Without drying his eyes, he ran for the village to get help, but said nothing of the strange event between him and Audra. Everyone thought they knew the source of his distress and tried to comfort him, but even when Audra was cremated within the week, he still carried the secret with him. Another season went by before he entrusted his younger brother Hatenia with a shard of the truth.
“I feel strange,” he muttered as they walked home from the fields together. The hot cycle was drawing to an end, but there was still a warmth in the air and the cry of wild geese above.
“You are strange,” Hatenia laughed.
“I don’t mean it like that, I feel different ever since…”
“...Audra?”
“Yeah”
“Different how?”
“I don’t know, I can’t explain. Just… forget about it, okay?”
But things had changed indeed. At times it seemed like a veil had been lifted and he could see the true intentions, the true emotions hiding behind people’s moves. It was rarely a pretty sight. And how could he look at Aurelius the same anymore? Or his father? They both clearly thought him to be unimportant and he saw that truth re-confirmed trial after trial in everything they did. And so he grew to loathe them, and from that loathing rebellious thoughts sprouted. Why should he apply himself when he was only the sixth child? What could he hope to achieve that his brothers wouldn’t already achieve before him? The more he thought about it, the more he realized every possible victory had already been stolen from him.
There was at least one benefit to his newfound ability, people seemed to trust him and he started to make use of their trust. Instead of preparing for the Lore Master’s lessons, he talked the Lore Master into giving him all the information he needed to break into the man’s home and found all the questions and answers for future examinations neatly written down. Samuel finished his education on the back of lies, deception and cheating. But he rather longed back to his schooldays the moment they ended, for his father was starting to get involved in his life now, encouraging him to find a suitable craft become an apprentice. But what could he become? He’d cared for Audra’s birds and adopted several new pets in the meantime, but doubted anyone in the family would approve of becoming the world’s first pet carer.
His father brought him several opportunities, such as working for the family brewing business, becoming a cabin boy, a stable boy, even suggested assistant dock work with that old grump Gerick, but Samuel rejected all opportunities by showing up too late, or not at all. Frustrated by his son’s antics, Lynond Archeidy decided to send Samuel to Railea where his elder son, Jasper, is in training to become an Aesir. He hopes Jasper can turn Samuel around before they have a delinquent in the family.
