JOURNAL OF THE DREAMWEAVER - CULLEN PART 2

JOURNAL OF THE DREAMWEAVER

An old man sat at his simply crafted table with pen and paper in hand. His hands were gnarled but quite deft and his practiced penmanship was superb. He had been a tall man before age stooped him and his hair was once something other than the white it was now.
His eyes were a deep gray, like slate in the rain. His house was minor and small, just two rooms, a front and back, the rear being the bedroom. He sat in the front room now surrounded by manuscripts, books and other things he had collected over his long life.
But today was unlike any other and his hand shook a little, with excitement, not age. He had been a strong man in his youth, not like other men of the mind; he had taken care to keep his body fit throughout his years.
He dipped his pen into a container of thick black ink, and spread the parchment out in order to write. He knew that he had to make a record of some kind, to write out what he had seen this day of all days. A small lamp burned bright, illuminating the table and his work. He had come home late after a momentous day.
And he wrote –

11th of the Moon Month, in the Lord God’s Year 810
A boy was found today. One of the village women discovered him by the waterfall where I leave offerings to the Old Gods. He was in a basket, with a weave I’ve never seen before and inside with him was a fresh honeycomb, an orchid and a small wooden wolf.
The woman came to me first, worried that the village wouldn’t accept a boy found in the wood were strange things dwell. I called for the three sisters, midwives in the village to care for the boy.
I cast runes and they show me strange things that I cannot explain. A darkness, war, royalty, things of great importance. The runes say he will change the world. He is a healthy boy, beautiful and strong. I cannot guess how he came to be left in the forest.
He is not one of the Rom, the gypsy Traveling Folk, he doesn’t have their coloring and they would never leave a babe behind in their wandering. I must keep track of this boy and watch him grown but I cannot care for him myself.
But there is another, who I think would welcome a babe to raise as his own. The villagers call him the Outsider and he lives just on the border of the forest alone. He was born to the village but had strange desires and they cast him out, but he came to me and is a man of some learning.
And like us all, he craves companionship, even if he himself does not know it. I think he would make a good choice of parent for a cast out boy. I shall go to him tomorrow and ask for him to care for the child.

12th of the Moon Month, in the Lord God’s Year 810.
The Outsider has agreed to take the boy and raise him. He has a small farm on the outskirts of the village, near the wood. He trades with the Rom for anything he can’t grow or breed himself and should be able to see to the boy’s needs. He is a lonely man and this should give him some comfort.
I chose to keep the three items found with the boy. The honeycomb has not begun to rot nor has the orchid wilted. I believe they are enchanted somehow and I wish to study them further.
I have been teaching the village children for a few years now and I will include the boy in my classes when he is of age.
Where did this boy come from?

2nd of the Harvest Month, in the Lord God’s year 810.
The Outside and the boy are well. The Outsider asked me to be a godfather to the boy and I have accepted to extend his sense of family further. The Outsider’s relationship with the Rom has grown as well. They seem quite interested in the boy and have a child of similar age for him to play with.
The Outsider has named the boy Cullen, meaning Son of the Wolf. It is a strong name.
The honey comb and the flower have still not begun to rot. The enchantment is strong.

6th of the Moon Month, in the Lord God’s Year 811.
The runes say Cullen will be a determined man & may be unyielding at times. He will become deeply attached & devoted to those he loves. He will lean towards the romantic & the ideal in matters of love, both of family & romantically.
He will be attracted to beautiful things but will not stand for discord or jealousy. When roused by anger he will brook no opposition & will fight to the death for any person or cause that he supports, out of a sense of duty.
He will be ambitious, determined & well organized with the willpower to fulfill wonderful possibilities. He will have surprising & unconventional ideas. Once his mind is made up, he will be direct & forthright in approaching his goal.
He will be hard working & take responsibility seriously. He will be loyal, reliable & likely to have the respect of others. He may depend on his intuition but he may have to guard against being irritable or obstinate.
He will posses a strong personality & will voice his opinions. It is important that he try to avoid overwhelming others with his strong emotions. He will have a love of knowledge & a sharp mind. He will be charged with vitality but must take care to not scatter his energy & focus on his goals.
Truthful & confident, he will be able to keep a secret. He must beware of establishing a balance between his own wishes & his duty to others. He will be perceptive & attentive to details but should avoid being critical or mistrusting.
He will be sensitive & creative, with a wealth of feelings. Although social & generally confident, he may be indecisive in love, but will be loyal & affectionate. He will be capable of great sacrifice but should not martyr himself to the unworthy.
I gave the reading to the Outsider. This child has the makings of someone special. I must keep an eye on him as he grows up. He will be a passionate boy & will need guidance.

11th of the Moon Month in the Lord God’s Year 817
Cullen has been included in my teachings now for months. He is energetic and bright, filled with a boundless energy. He has strong interests in living creatures, art and reading. He shows a genuine caring for other children and a strong desire to be with them.
However, he is sometimes unsure of his environment. His sense of the world as an ordered place often seems confused and he is not sure of the consequences some actions bring. The other children are sometimes cruel to him and he reacts with anger.
He often spends long periods of time before initiating an activity for himself. He most often chooses Drawing, reading or dramatic play with others. He sometimes needs encouragement to stay with a task.
He enjoys playing with the other children when they let him. He respects the rights of others. He may become aggressive but always with a reason in his own mind. He may overreact to things that bother him with large displays of aggression or panicky behavior. He is unable to tolerate almost any kind of frustration.
He tests limits and fails to follow routines. He has difficulty directing his boundless energy into appropriate activities.

This land we live in needs more children like Cullen. He has an imagination. Most of the children I teach can do the tasks I prepare for them, but they are the sons and daughters of farmers and they will grow up to be farmers themselves.
When I taught at the castle in Holdfast, teaching the nobles children, it was the same. Very few children became artists for the sake of art, or scholars for the sake of learning. The people of this land are a simple folk, who go about their daily lives without dreaming of something better or different.
The people of Dustin fish their marshes. The people of Seawatch fish the sea. The people of Vess mine their gold. The People of Rath breed horses. And the People of Holdfast are farmers. Simple people all. Cullen is different. Curious, imaginative, bold.
No one has ever built a seaworthy ship to cross the ocean and find new land. No one has ever crossed the border of mountains to see what’s on the other side. Cullen wants to know about the stars. He wants to know how I read the runes. He wants all of my stories, about Faeries and Old Gods.
He has told me that the Rom teach him woodcraft, hunting, survival and even how to fight with weapons. This boy came from somewhere special, from likely very interesting origins. I would give much and more to know about where he came from.
This child is unique among the farmers. But he has trouble relating to the other children because of that.
I will teach him all I know.

11th of the Moon Month in the Lord God’s Year 818.
Cullen has become difficult to manage. His passion for things overflows into every aspect of his life. I am grateful for the Rom teaching him to fight, but now he fights with the Outsider and the village boys. He has a fire in the head and heart.
I have been teaching him about the Old Gods and the Daoine Sidhe. He is most interested in the Faery lore and is eager to make offerings to the Gods. He is not interested in the Godsmen’s religion of the land however.
He has found a best friend in the Rom as well. The boy that is his age is named Tik and he is good for Cullen. He is a calmer sort and serves to keep Cullen calmer too. They have traded reading and writing for training of woodlore and weapons training.
The Rom have been staying close to the Outsider’s farm recently. I don’t know their habits well enough to say why they move or don’t move but it’s been good for Cullen to have a real friend.

But something is happening in the world around us. The High King has been sending Kingsguard to recruit soldiers for his forces. I don’t know why he would need to build his army since he rules the five Kingdoms already. I don’t know what’s happened.
I’ve managed to avoid the patrols thus far. I hope to avoid being noticed. It has been many years since my service to the royal family but I prefer to stay in this unassuming village with the people here.
I have told Cullen to avoid the soldiers too, but he is very interested in them. I’m afraid that the adventure of it may attract him, but he would make a poor soldier. He doesn’t follow orders well and has a mind of his own.
I worry and pray for us both.