NOVEL NEXT Ch. 8 The Quiet Heir
The quiet heir blinked as seven things flashed past his window in their capital house. Their speed had blurred their heat signatures, and since it was past curfew, all the lights in the courtyard were out. The quiet heir rushed over and opened his window. He looked outside and recognized the things that had passed his window. They were the other seven heirs to the great chasms.
“But it's past curfew, they should be at home,” the quiet heir said to himself. The other seven heirs noticed their audience and swam over quickly. The biggest one got close to the quiet heir and put his finger to his lips.
“Shhhh, don’t make any noise. We don’t want to get caught,” the big heir said.
“But it’s past curfew, why aren’t you home?” the quiet heir asked.
“Because we wanted to have a fun race,” the wild looking heir said.
“Do you want to race with us?” the wiry heir asked.
“I’m not sure about that,” the quiet heir replied.
The spiky heir grabbed the quiet heir by the wrist and pulled him outside. “Come on,” he said, “maybe you’ll win!”
“Yes, Yes, join us,” said the horned and pointy heirs in unison.
The quiet heir liked the idea of winning and so he went with them. It was a close race, but the quiet heir did win! He felt the rush of victory, and he was hooked. The heirs raced many times that night, and though he didn’t always win, the quiet heir won the most. They raced many nights after that; the quiet heir won the most. When the races became hunting competitions, the quiet heir won the most. Whenever the heirs were in the capital, they would compete; the quiet heir won the most.
As the competitions continued, the quiet heir grew out of his shell. His father noticed, and decided it would be alright to take the quiet heir to see a tournament. This tournament was very important, and only happened once every 20 years. The quiet heir wondered why none of the strong clan heads participated, and his father said it was because they couldn’t. He said, “Son, this tournament is how the heads choose who will make decisions when they are split, and who will lead their joint military when someone attacks. It would not make sense if their clans could participate.”
The quiet heir agreed and his father smiled. “Perhaps they should call you the wise heir instead,” his father said. The quiet heir liked that, and decided he would be the wise heir. The wise heir’s father pointed at a boy in the arena, “You see that boy? He’s only a little older than you, and a commoner, but I decided to give him a chance. His name is David, and even if he doesn’t win this grand tournament, I think he’ll win the next one.”
David ended up losing, but he made it all the way to the semi-finals! His opponent, another commoner, ended up winning the tournament the next day. They held a great feast where all the families of the great clans and the head families of the regular clans attended. The tournament winner brought his family to the banquet so that they could be there when he declared their name. He chose Brightscale, in honor of the great clan who sponsored him, the Lightreefs. The man introduced his family to all the great clan heads, and their families. It was during these introductions that the heirs would fall for the winner’s daughter. She was the prettiest girl they had ever seen, and the wise heir was so stunned by her, he returned to being the quiet heir while the others peacocked.
The big heir invited her to participate in their next competition in hopes to impress her. She agreed, and that night they raced, but instead of the big one winning like he had hoped, or any of the heirs winning at all, the girl laughed as she crossed the finish well before any of the boys. The boys began arguing, blaming each other for their loss, but the wise heir was too entranced by the girl’s laugh to participate. They raced many times that night; the girl won them all. They raced many nights after that; the girl won them all. They had hunting competitions: the girl won them all. Whenever they were in the capital, they would have competitions; the girl won them all.
They all grew up, and the girl always won. The heirs became more frustrated with every loss, except the wise heir who was simply in awe. One day the wise heir decided to try to woo her another way, instead of trying to beat her in a competition.
“Would you like to watch the glowfish migration with me?” the wise heir asked.
“I would love that,” the girls answered. The wise heir was overjoyed. That night, the water in the wise heir’s home was warmer, and his parents only smiled knowingly when their son could only speak briefly in his blissful state.
The wise heir would take the girl to see the migration, and on many more dates after that. As they watched the boy who used to win the most build a relationship with the girl they all longed for, they became jealous, and their frustration became hate, for each other, and even more so for the wise heir.
He would propose to the girl on the opening day of the grand tournament. At the end of the grand tournament, he would celebrate his good friend and marine captain, David, who chose the name Quickscale. Months later the wise heir married the girl, and had a son. Ten years later, they would have a daughter. Another ten years, and the next grand tournament came around. The great clan heads chose to step down to allow the next generation to flourish, and left to travel the realm and gain strength, as is tradition. This whole time, the other heirs’ hatred for the wise heir and his wife festered, and now that they were the heads of their clans, they acted on it. On the opening day of the tournament, the wise heir’s clan and chasm was attacked by the forces of the other great clans. David forced the wise heir to escape with his family, but just as they were about to escape, an underwater volcano erupted, the woman the wise clan head loved was separated from their group. David did not let his friend stop to search as the enemy was not long behind them.
This was the story of the fall of the Darkfin clan, and how Ford the Wise was forced into a life of piracy.