Two Months Later
On the shores of Lake Rumare, a dark brown griffon stood. He looked towards the horizon of the lake, and the scene it offered. There wasn't much in terms of landmarks, but the view was still beautiful, at least to him. The water of the lake was a dark blue, which merged well with the mostly clear sky, and the few clouds that were all around that same sky were all a bright white – it was the late morning, and the day was already bright, even if winter was coming in some months.
A noise from a nearby bush broke the griffon's attention towards the horizon, and his white head spun to look at it. A few seconds later, a wild rabbit leapt out, and looked at the griffon. The two looked at each other for a minute or so, before the rabbit once again began to move, disappearing into another bush and into the forest.
The griffon, now broken out of his concentration he had been for the past half hour staring at the lake, decided to walk back home through the same path he had come from. After around ten minutes of walking – and some flying as well – he was close to arriving at the small town of Emlyn, his hometown. It was not too far from the city of Rumare, but also far enough to have more in common with the Rumarean countryside that to the capital.
Rumare was an ancient land, and it liked to call itself ones of the cradles of griffon civilization, even though that title applied more to the mountain ranges of Eastern Griffonia; like those in Griffonstone and Blackhollow. Nevertheless, the lake that held the Barony's name was the birthplace of many old kingdoms and empires, even the very own Kingdom of Rumare, though that was more ancient history than recent one.
Ever since the Gods had created griffonkind thousands of years ago, the islands had been regarded as a paradise, with scenic and beautiful landscapes and beaches; and the interesting architecture that came with its history. This was also helped by more recent history, as the barony had escaped almost all of the bloodshed that came with both the Empire's collapse and reunification.
It had even gained from the latter, as the Baron – Alaric Dawnbreaker – had petitioned Archon Eros for the vassalization of Rumare, which he gladly accepted. As the wars of reunification spread, Rumare avoided sending many of its sons and daughters to wars; and at the end the barony was granted land east of the Lake, most notably the city of Residence. Boreas would reward his faithful, it was often said.
The reason the dark brown griffon knew all of this history was simple – the Baron, inspired by Archon Eros, pushed for an increase in the teaching of ancient history; language and heritage, amongst other things, in the newly formed school curriculum. The griffon had been born just as this was approved, and so his education was spent all in the new system.
He focused again on the path ahead and, as he entered the town, he could see several boats on the small harbour Emlyn had. Fishing continued to be the base for Rumare's economy, despite the fact that industry; commerce and tourism had made significant advancements. Even then, fishing was an important part of Rumare's culture, and recreational fishing had become big in the past years – though it left some fishergriffs unhappy due to the disturbance in their work.
He entered the town itself, feeling the hard cobblestone road on his talons and paws. He looked around, observing the morning scenes; Emlyn was not big, but the streets close to the central square were full with griffons, walking and flying around. It was a work day, and it showed. Today was his day off though, and so he continued walking through the central part of town, pausing for a moment to look at the new electronics store; the new devices and machines fascinated him!
He flew the rest of the way home, feeling the wind all around him. Wings had been one of griffonkind's greatest gifts, and so it was important for griffons to know how to fly. From his low-altitude flight he could see Lake Rumare, and how it stretched towards the horizon, infinite in its size from his point of view. The parts of Emlyn that weren't behind him were also all visible, and the nearby forests and villages towards the west could be seen as well. If he flied somewhat higher and forced his vision, he could even see the other side of the island.
Fall was coming soon, and he could see the trees slowly beginning to change colour from a bright green to more... 'shut-down' or lifeless tones of that colour, showing the change of seasons. It was also starting to get cool, but his fur and feathers protected him from any temperature drops; he was fine with this change though, as the last months had been warm, even hot, for the griffon.
He finally arrived at his home, taking a moment to rest before entering. It was typical by griffon standards, standing at two stories and built from mostly stone and wood. It was an old building, but it did not have any major problems that couldn't be fixed, the thatched roof of the house providing insulation from the elements. It was also spacious, due to the low population density in his area; he couldn't imagine living like many city griffons, in cramped streets and tight homes.
As he entered his home, he found that it was empty – this wasn't too rare, as his father was a fishergriff and his mother was probably somewhere buying food; his family didn't own a refrigerator, so they had to restock on more perishable items each two days.
The griffon went up the stairs and into his room. Even though it was his off day, he still had activities to do relating to his job: he was a mailgriffon. While trucks and other vehicles were becoming more common in civilian life, most of short-range couriers and mailgriffs were still winged. He wanted to become a truck driver though, and he needed a license for that; thus, he had been spending the last weeks studying and perfecting the questions on the license exam.
He opened the road code textbook, pulled a large paper from it that he used both as a guide to most road signs and as a object that helped him remember where he was on the textbook. He was in the last pages of his second time reading through it, and he felt that once he finished he was ready to take the license exam.
Before starting though, he went back downstairs and moved the only radio they had in the house from the front room coffee table up to his room. Music helped him study faster, he found out, and since nogriff was home he used the opportunity to use the radio his mother bought. He put it near him and turned it on – it was battery powered, so he didn't need to worry about plugging it in.
He began studying, listening to the music in the radio – some 'old hits' station, by the sound of it, which wasn't bad. A half hour or so later, though, the music stopped and some theme that sounded like one of an advertisement started playing. This broke his focus for a moment, and then a voice came out of the radio; he then realized that his parents probably left the radio on a station that mixed music with news.
"Prince Ondska of Vedina has struck a defiant tone in an address to his nation today, challenging the Sola—"
He quickly changed the station to one where he knew they only played music, and continued studying.
Another half hour later, he heard the sounds of somegriff entering home. Going downstairs, he found out that it was his mother, and approached and greeted her with a hug.
"Hello mom," he said.
His mother broke the hug. "Hello son." She then proceeded to straighten his forehead feathers. "How is my Eryr doing in his off day?"
"I'm fine, mom," he said, moving to one of the chairs in the room, and sitting on it. "I was just studying the road code in my room."
"That's great!" She sat on the couch. "I can't wait for the day you drive for the first time!"
"Yeah, same," he said. "Honestly, its weird and exciting. I have been focusing on this for most of the year and I'm close to finally achieving it." The 20-year-old rubbed his beak nervously. "I've looked at the test and I know almost all of it."
"You know we both support you," his mother said. "I was a mailgriffon as well when I was younger, back then we had to do everything by wing, it was much more tiring. I'm glad you have this opportunity."
"Yeah..." Eryr looked at the bag next to his mother. "You brought lunch?"
"Yup!" she exclaimed. "Fish and rice from the store near the town hall."
"Nice." Eryr's stomach grumbled. "Should I lay down the table?"
"Not so fast," his mother said, "I still need help with some things I brought. Then we can eat."
"Alright." He said, rising from his chair.
When they had finished putting all of the items bought on the basement storage, both griffons ate lunch. Eryr had brought the radio back downstairs, so the ambience of the house was mostly filled with the music from it, plus some small talk they had made. Once they finished eating, Eryr headed back into his room to finish off the last pages of the textbook.
His father had come home in the late afternoon and, once he greeted him, he returned to the same spot by the lake where he had been in the morning. It was his favorite spot, especially at sundown – it was secluded but not too far away from town, and the sounds from the water; winds; birds and trees all combined to make a perfect tune. Today the sky at dusk was orange, the clouds in the sky – more that in the morning – especially bright with this color; they plus the purplish sky color reflecting on the water. The nightfall brought him a peaceful feeling, and it especially helped after days where he was nervous.
Not wanting too return too late to his home, he made his way back to home, passing through the newly-installed streetlights on the Emlyn central square. He found them useful and fascinating, even though they did block out some of the more faint stars from the night sky. As he returned he passed through some officers of the Rumare Police Force, their green uniforms dark in the almost-night. They did glance at him for a moment, but thankfully did not decide to stop him.
Not much happened once he arrived home. That night's dinner consisted of pasta with tomato sauce, and they had some time to play Trust before going to sleep – this was cut short though, as everygriff had to sleep early, especially him and his father.
As he laid in bed, he thought of the future. He was going to take the exam next week, and if – when – he passed, he would request his boss to become a driver for the courier company he worked in. More far-future thoughts also crossed his mind: moving out, family... but he tried to focus on the what was nearer. After some ten minutes of thinking, tiredness finally won, and he fell asleep.