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Oct. 13th, 2009 09:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kat8chaI had a gift for finding things.
Not a Talent, we never called it a Talent. When I was too young to know better I'd said to my ma, 'Mama, Mama, Old Man Jake said I have a Talent!' and she'd scolded me for it. 'Talents' Mama explained, were gifts sent from the All High to the people, and people with a Talent were sent to a special institute where they learned how to control themselves. Mama explained that I had a gift, and that I was never to call it a Talent. I listened to Mama, because Mama was all I had, and Mama was always right.
So I let people tell me I had a gift, but always told them that it wasn't a Talent. The people from the neighborhood I had helped out would come to Mama and talk to her. Generally it was after I'd found something they were missing, or needing, or just plain wanted. 'You should get that boy tested, Sable.' Old Man Jake or Auntie Nina or Sal from the market would say. 'He's too good at this, it's gotta be a Talent'.
Mama would demure, of course, because it wasn't like she wanted me to get tested. As I grew up I figured Mama just plain didn't like talents, didn't like what they did, didn't like what they had to do, didn't like the training, or the way they acted. Maybe Mama'd known a talent when she was young and pretty and they had left her heartbroken. Maybe my father had been a Talent. I never asked Mama, not even when I started my between years, when I was young and angry and full of myself. I knew it wasn't something to ask.
By the time I was a betweener people had stopped asking anyway. Mama always said we didn't have the money for the testing, or she wasn't feeling well enough to deal with Talent officials, or maybe next year when I'd grown up a little more. Mama was always waiting for me to grow up. She'd stroke my cheek and tell me 'you'll grow up just fine, Bluejay, just wait'. Bluejay was what she called me, it wasn't my name. My name was Jay, just Jay, but she liked to look into my blue eyes and called me Bluejay, she called me her baby bird. I was okay with being Mama's baby bird, but when I looked up at the air ships soaring across the sky I wanted to be a *real* bird. I wanted wings, I wanted to fly. Mama always got a said look in her eyes when I said that.
Maybe my daddy was a air ship pilot.
Mama died about a year ago, just after Our Richest Donovan died. Richest Donovan was killed, because that was the way of Riches wasn't it? Richest Uric, Donovan's father, was killed before Donovan ascended the throne, and Richest Rutledge who was Richest Uric's brother was killed before Richest Rutledge ascended. It was the way of Riches, to kill their brothers or father and take over their titles. Even lesser Riches did it, though not so much as the Richests. I was always surprised that the Richest's survived for as long as they did, I guess they wouldn't do it if it wasn't for the Talents.
Like I said, Talents went off and got training, special training. If you trained hard enough and your Talent was strong enough you got to go and bond with one of the Riches. Maybe they'd be a minor Rich, or one of those merchants who managed to get enough money to earn the title Rich, but if you were really, really, really good, you bonded with someone in line to be Richest. You had to be amazing to do that, because bonding was important, at least to the Talent. When a Talent's partner died, a Talent died with them, it didn't work both ways though. If a Talent died their partner would be a little wobbly, but they wouldn't die. They could even go and rebond with another Talent. Richest Donovan had a Talent when he was younger, but when the Talent had died Donovan had never rebonded, which a lot of people thought was weird. A Richest without a Talent was just asking for assassination.
And it'd finally happened. No one was sure who did it, it could have been Richest Donovan's son, Liam, or Donovan's brother, Nicholas. No one was sure. Liam had inherited his father's money, but not the title of Richest because he was too young so the title had passed to Nicholas. Liam was bonded with a Talent named Nieve, I didn't know anything about Nicholas' talent. Nieve was supposed to be pretty as the sun did shine, but chillier than the coldest winter's night. I heard whispers about her from the staff at the depot I started working at once Mama fell ill.
I worked there for a year after Mama died too. I was saving up money, getting some experience. I was good at lifting things and putting them away, and great at making deliveries. I never got lost, and I never lost an order. Pretty soon I would be coming out of my between years too, and then I'd be a man.
It was as good a time as any to look towards the sky, especially since I'd earned up enough money to take a pilot course. I was looking forward to the first rush of wind beneath my wings.
Not a Talent, we never called it a Talent. When I was too young to know better I'd said to my ma, 'Mama, Mama, Old Man Jake said I have a Talent!' and she'd scolded me for it. 'Talents' Mama explained, were gifts sent from the All High to the people, and people with a Talent were sent to a special institute where they learned how to control themselves. Mama explained that I had a gift, and that I was never to call it a Talent. I listened to Mama, because Mama was all I had, and Mama was always right.
So I let people tell me I had a gift, but always told them that it wasn't a Talent. The people from the neighborhood I had helped out would come to Mama and talk to her. Generally it was after I'd found something they were missing, or needing, or just plain wanted. 'You should get that boy tested, Sable.' Old Man Jake or Auntie Nina or Sal from the market would say. 'He's too good at this, it's gotta be a Talent'.
Mama would demure, of course, because it wasn't like she wanted me to get tested. As I grew up I figured Mama just plain didn't like talents, didn't like what they did, didn't like what they had to do, didn't like the training, or the way they acted. Maybe Mama'd known a talent when she was young and pretty and they had left her heartbroken. Maybe my father had been a Talent. I never asked Mama, not even when I started my between years, when I was young and angry and full of myself. I knew it wasn't something to ask.
By the time I was a betweener people had stopped asking anyway. Mama always said we didn't have the money for the testing, or she wasn't feeling well enough to deal with Talent officials, or maybe next year when I'd grown up a little more. Mama was always waiting for me to grow up. She'd stroke my cheek and tell me 'you'll grow up just fine, Bluejay, just wait'. Bluejay was what she called me, it wasn't my name. My name was Jay, just Jay, but she liked to look into my blue eyes and called me Bluejay, she called me her baby bird. I was okay with being Mama's baby bird, but when I looked up at the air ships soaring across the sky I wanted to be a *real* bird. I wanted wings, I wanted to fly. Mama always got a said look in her eyes when I said that.
Maybe my daddy was a air ship pilot.
Mama died about a year ago, just after Our Richest Donovan died. Richest Donovan was killed, because that was the way of Riches wasn't it? Richest Uric, Donovan's father, was killed before Donovan ascended the throne, and Richest Rutledge who was Richest Uric's brother was killed before Richest Rutledge ascended. It was the way of Riches, to kill their brothers or father and take over their titles. Even lesser Riches did it, though not so much as the Richests. I was always surprised that the Richest's survived for as long as they did, I guess they wouldn't do it if it wasn't for the Talents.
Like I said, Talents went off and got training, special training. If you trained hard enough and your Talent was strong enough you got to go and bond with one of the Riches. Maybe they'd be a minor Rich, or one of those merchants who managed to get enough money to earn the title Rich, but if you were really, really, really good, you bonded with someone in line to be Richest. You had to be amazing to do that, because bonding was important, at least to the Talent. When a Talent's partner died, a Talent died with them, it didn't work both ways though. If a Talent died their partner would be a little wobbly, but they wouldn't die. They could even go and rebond with another Talent. Richest Donovan had a Talent when he was younger, but when the Talent had died Donovan had never rebonded, which a lot of people thought was weird. A Richest without a Talent was just asking for assassination.
And it'd finally happened. No one was sure who did it, it could have been Richest Donovan's son, Liam, or Donovan's brother, Nicholas. No one was sure. Liam had inherited his father's money, but not the title of Richest because he was too young so the title had passed to Nicholas. Liam was bonded with a Talent named Nieve, I didn't know anything about Nicholas' talent. Nieve was supposed to be pretty as the sun did shine, but chillier than the coldest winter's night. I heard whispers about her from the staff at the depot I started working at once Mama fell ill.
I worked there for a year after Mama died too. I was saving up money, getting some experience. I was good at lifting things and putting them away, and great at making deliveries. I never got lost, and I never lost an order. Pretty soon I would be coming out of my between years too, and then I'd be a man.
It was as good a time as any to look towards the sky, especially since I'd earned up enough money to take a pilot course. I was looking forward to the first rush of wind beneath my wings.
