Born in a village halfway up the Spire—a mountain so tall it seemed to tower like a spire through the clouds—Anser knew all he did about the world beyond through stories. With parents employed by the world-renowned Archaeological Guild of the Spire (the cold, dry air preserves artifacts well), he inherited his family's sentimentality for history.
He was born, or so his parents told him, of a vision of a particular lake hidden in a forest, on which several geese swam, which they had seen on one of their missions. In his youth they regaled him with tales about the Queendom of Hearts on the other side of the Spire range, and of the new worlds uncovered by the century-old order of the Ducal Scouts, so that they filled his dreams and he came to wish to join them.
Anser planned to leave home to pursue those aspirations on his eighteenth birthday. But the mountain is a fickle beast, and that same week, several buildings in his village were crushed in an avalanche, including the archaeological catalogue. Reeling with the shock and grief, his parents and the rest of the guild immediately embarked on the task of rescuing their artifacts from under six feet of snow.
He volunteered his help, but half a year in, it became apparent that this endeavour would last at least a year more. Unwilling to hold him back any longer, his parents agreed to send him off.
He moved to the Duchy, which dealt in the Queendom's exploration and conquest, and offered his services to the Ducal Scouts where he was posted to the Right Vanguard. He grew on them instantaneously. Still a wide-eyed newcomer, he hasn't yet started to think about the motives and intentions of the Queendom in sending scouts there.
Comments