Finding the Right Note

by Wanderer D

History

Finding the Right Note

Chapter 4: History

By Wanderer D

He should have been at work two hours ago.

The morning had gone by relatively quickly as they ate breakfast and talked and drank more coffee, but despite the nagging knowledge that he should have left for work several hours before, Angus couldn’t find it in himself to care enough. Not today. His attention was focused completely on the mare that he was spending time with that morning. After all, he had made the decision already not to show, and knowing Frekr, being late by ten minutes might be as bad as missing the whole day.

It was amazing how unfulfilled he felt while doing simply what he did every day, unchanging, and dealing with the same problems every time, with only the name of the complaining customer changing or the nature of their products.

This time, however, after stepping out of his monotone life, he felt energized and filled with a new sense of purpose. He was going to quit his job and find another. He had to decide how to go about it, but there was no doubt in his mind that he was going to find a new job, but what?

After breakfast and still trying to figure out what to do, Angus had invited Octavia for a walk around town and to his delight, she had agreed. He had started the tour at the harbors, where Octavia had briefly been upon arrival. They extended for miles around the bay, but they were a wealth of history that had been drilled into every gryphon living in the capital thanks to basic education.

The gryphon Empire put a lot of stock on keeping tradition alive and thus, it was normal to see flocks of little gryphons walking the streets surrounded by their teachers as they were taught the history of the Empire, although in a much more prepared way, unlike Angus’ learning which had been done partly in school, and partly by his father who had educated him in pretty much the same way he was ‘teaching’ it to Octavia. In fact, they were now standing right next to a large crowd of little gryphons and their teachers, who had walked over curiously to gaze at their first ever sighting of a pony.

The teachers were keeping the chicks in place, but they too were paying them more attention than probably necessary, whispering the little knowledge they had about ponies to them, while trying not to be rude.

“That’s a very big building for a market,” Octavia commented, looking at the Grand Market, a large building in the harbor, made out of large blocks of gray stone and two large statues at the sides of the main entrance, that stood just at the edge of the commercial district and the free beach. “I’m surprised that there’s so many large, open windows on it, if it’s an inside market.”

“It has to be,” Angus explained, looking up at it. “Since we are a carnivorous society with some omnivorous tendencies, we need to keep both sorts of products readily available, and for everything to remain fresh, gryphons of old made sure the building was well-ventilated to keep cool inside… after we opened trade with the ponies, unicorn mages were hired to create several low-temperature rooms, keeping the meat fresh for longer, although it was so well planned that the meat usually stayed fresh and clean through the whole day.” He glanced at her. “It’s a little known fact—or maybe simply overlooked now that we have refrigeration—that the market place had extremely strict rules of sanitation for the day and age it was built. No other market in the world at the time had such an effective system of cleanliness. You would be hard pressed to find a single fly inside.” He looked a little to the side, trying to discern something of the building, but shook his head, simply pointing a claw to the side of the market. “You can’t see if from here, but it also has access to the water, where they keep the live fish for sale.”

He pointed at a long strip of wood that protruded from behind the market. “Live fish is very valued in our cousine, so the Grand Market has its own little pier. Authorized fishing vessels will moor there and carry their live cargo to specific areas, where the water is kept clean and the fish contained.”

Octavia blinked. “Wouldn't that make it more difficult to select and catch to bring out?”

Angus laughed. “Well, normally yes, but gryphon fishmongers are very adept at plucking out the fish out of the water, and the practice began several hundred years ago when the Emperor Danelagh found that the fish he was served had gone bad. So they've had generations of practice.” He motioned to the gryphon statue on the right of the entrance; a broad-chested gryphon with a mace hanging from a harness on his left side. “Rather than beheading the chef for the state of the fish, he decided to ask him why it had come to his table like that and the chef explained that fish were left exposed to the air and heat in the markets, going bad much faster than red meat. He proposed to have the fish salted, but the cooking would not be the same, and the Emperor would not stand for that.”

“So he ordered them to think of a way to fix that and it ended up with them having to catch the fish live and throw them into huge tanks under the market?” Octavia asked, eyes wide, unaware that the little gryphons behind her were equally wide-eyed.

“Yes, he did,” Angus chuckled, concentrating on her face and ignoring the teachers, who were discussing something among themselves. “Again, bear in mind this happened long before we opened trade with the ponies and had access to more mundane uses for magic. But even after the meat was kept cool with unicorn magic, the tradition remained.” He shrugged. “We could have figured magical ways of doing this as well, I guess.”

Octavia had stopped and was looking at the building once more. “So you have magic then,” she stated, looking back at Angus. “Why would gryphons not use it for more mundane tasks? How can you even cast magic without horns?”

“Most of our magic is focused on combat, and no one thought about using it for more menial tasks, or if they did, they probably were shut down by others, not wanting to tarnish our military history by using battle-magic to keep fish cold.” Angus explained with a small smirk. “It was developed for fighting after all, and gryphons are nothing if not traditional. It could seem a bit militaristic for outsiders, but for us it’s more of an… appreciation of it, rather than simple conservative thoughts.” His eyes drifted to the statue at the left of the market’s entrance, which was another gryphon, this one clad in heavy armor covering most of his body. “We are masters of the forge, after all… and gryphon weapons and their craftsmanship are regarded as an art by just about any species in this world.”

Angus scratched the base of his beak for a moment, deep in thought. “In fact, Princess Luna’s twin blades were forged here in Ammassalik,” He said after a moment. “It is said that they were worked on by none other than the legendary Villieldr, The Forger. Their ebony blades were made from minerals found deep in Miklilgnyja and reinforced with our magic to make them almost indestructible.” He raised an eyebrow at Octavia, who had leaned in a little, enthralled by his description.

Angus shrugged, looking back at the market. “As for how we cast it… much like Zebras, I suppose. Although our magic is rune-based instead of potion-based. Unlike unicorns—who use their magic naturally and with a simple thought—we sketch the runes, imbue them with power from our own energy and the runes keep the magic going indefinitely.” He scratched his head. “I’m not entirely sure how the specifics work, though, since I am not a rune-caster. It’s a secret art, taught by apprenticeship, and very carefully guarded. Although we gryphons use it with several things, such as making our buildings sturdier or shields and weapons almost unbreakable, its study is a complicated thing.”

Octavia chuckled. “I can imagine! You seem to really know a lot of history, Angus.”

Angus shrugged, smiling sheepishly. “My father taught me a lot more than what I learned in school. Come on, let’s go see something else.”

The pair almost jumped when the disappointed “Aww…” from several little gryphons behind them.

“Can’t you stay longer?” One little chick asked, tilting her head and gazing at the pair with watery eyes. “I wanna hear more about how we crafted weapons!”

“And I wanna hear more about the market! Is it true that they once captured a leviathan for Empress Reiði?” Another gryphon asked, shaking his claw in the air.

Octavia laughed. “It seems you drew quite the crowd, Angus.”

“I’m so very sorry!” One of the teachers said, finally stepping up and herding the chicks away with her wings. “I apologize, master…”

“Uh… Greenquill,” Angus responded.

“Master Greenquill,” the teacher acknowledged with a slight bow. “I see that you’re busy, we just never expected to be so lucky to find an honored Historian on our school trip!”

Angus grinned self-consciously. “I’m sorry, ma’am, but I am no Historian.”

“Oh,” the teacher smiled, undaunted. “Well, you certainly sounded like one! In any case, we should carry on with our school trip. Good day to you two!”

Octavia and Angus watched the teachers organize the chicks and guide them into the Great Market, smiling slightly when they heard a distant and excited: “Hey! Look one of the tanks for live fish Mr. Greenquill talked about!”

“Well, Mr. Greenquill,” Octavia chuckled. “What’s next?”

Angus shook his head in amusement, but after some thought nodded. “I think I know, follow me.”

The pair drew a few looks from other gryphons as they continued their walk, but they weren't bothered by anyone. It was unusual to see a pony in Amassalisk after all, and even more so accompanied by a gryphon, but it wasn't unheard of.

Angus led Octavia out of the main harbor road and up a narrow and steep street, walking away from the shore and deeper into the city.

Although the inclination of the street made walking a bit slower, Octavia enjoyed looking at the small houses built on both sides, all of them colorful and somehow giving a sense of community despite their wildly different colors and decorations. Here a pale green wall ended abruptly into a yellow one, followed by blue and then even salmon pink. The cobblestone under her hooves was worn but clean and despite the fact that they were climbing up and several hundred more houses and buildings could be seen up in the distance, there didn't seem to be any problem with sewage that she could detect, which she hadn't expected.

The lower streets of Canterlot had a problem with that, and she had expected a similar situation here.

When they finally turned left and onto a more even ground, Angus grinned and pointed to a small plaza ending in a railed balcony that overlooked the city below and the sea beyond. Like the place in front of the inn where he had stopped to rest that morning, it had a couple of benches and some bushes with flowers.

He watched as Octavia got up on her hind legs, and put her forehooves on the railing, leaning forward to gaze at the world beyond.

“This is beautiful,” Octavia whispered, staring. She could see most of the city spreading below them, but also how it followed the coast. The view also cast another interesting light on the houses they had passed before, revealing the small aviaries on top of them, for ease of access to flying species. “I can see the bay where I arrived from here! I love how the water looks, it’s like its made of sapphires.”

“It’s funny that you would say that,” Angus said after a moment of staring at her. His gaze fell on the distant shore. “That area is actually called the Sapphire Shore.”

Octavia stared at him before she burst out laughing, holding her stomach with one hoof, while the other stayed on the railing, helping keep her balance intact.

Angus blinked. “Wait, what’s so funny?”

It took a moment for Octavia to slow down to a chuckle, but eventually she was able to talk again. “It’s just that ‘Sapphire Shores’ is the name of a popular singer in Equestria.” She snickered. “I know it’s a very romantic name for the bay, but the relationship to her makes it just funny in my mind.” She giggled.

“I see,” Angus nodded solemnly. “That is, of course, a bit tragic since now I’ll be forced to inform the Emperor of this and we might go to war over it.”

Octavia stopped laughing and stared at him, baffled and borderline horrified.

“I’m joking,” Angus said after a moment.

Octavia punched him in the foreleg. “That was mean!” she laughed.

Angus grinned, completely unapologetic. “I got you, though.”

The pair stayed there for some time, enjoying the sights and company until Octavia noticed the position of the sun. “Oh my, I should probably start heading back,” she said, placing a hoof on Angus’ foreleg. “I’m supposed to play tonight and it’s already late afternoon.”

Angus blinked and looked up. “I-I didn't even realize we had spent so much of the day already.”

Octavia grinned. “It was fun. That happens when you have fun.”

Angus chuckled and nodded. “I know a way to get there… here, let me show it to you so you can find your way back here if you ever need a place to think.”

Octavia nodded, holding her hoof on his leg. “Thank you, Angus.”

Angus tilted his head. “For what?”

“For today, for showing me around and telling me all about the places we visited.”

Angus smiled, helping her down to all fours before starting to walk at her side. “You're welcome… and thank you too for helping me.”

o.0.o End Chapter 4 o.0.o

Comments

[Doggi]

That name tho.
i2.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/544/129/bd4.gif

[pahnazd]

This was a wonderful chapter.
Also possibility for Angus' new career! Yay for that

[Cody MacArthur Fett]

Gotta love how the narration says that everyone learns about the minutia of their history because of the education that Angus missed, and then we find out the teachers regard him as a historian because of just uncommonly knowledgeable he is. I like it. It makes it feel less like a nation of hats and more like a collection of individuals, with our main character set apart because of he's living up to the hat that everyone else has set aside.

[Shumiry]

Another wonderful chapter. I'm loving the dialogue and interactions between Angus and Octy as well as the world around them. It's easy to get lost in the story, and your imagery does a fantastic job of putting the scene in my head.

Please keep writing, I'll keep reading!

[Backlash91]

You know, I have not had a story with a griffon come by in a long time, and I finally found this gem in all the rough. I love it, and look forward to more ^^