So it was that young Deryn Hafantan was taken off the rain-slickened streets of Llanomere by one Leonard Gruff. Who just so happened to be – and still is – the foreman of the docks. Naturally at the age of seven, Deryn's malnourished frame wasn’t fit for labouring work, but Gruff knew that his subtle skill-set was more useful than that.
It was early summer, some twelve years after the incident in the alley-ways and the port of Llanomere was thriving. The city had changed noticeably in the past decade, being carried on the wave of prosperity that washed through the Dynasty. The early sun rose in the west, casting swathes of golden light onto the city and invigorating its inhabitants to rise and work. Red and yellow striped market stalls were erected daily, creating the vibrant Circus Square that was so familiar in Llanomere.
Deryn's commute to the docks took him through straight through Circus Square. Sending a nod of greeting to the merchants who recognised him, he'd pass through under the shadow of the cathedral and down the steep and twisting stone steps to the waterfront.
Llanomere existed here because of the presence of two things: the depth of the bay and the height of the surrounding hills and cliffs. The rich, blue-green bay was one of the only sites on the western seaboard of the continent with sufficient depth as to allow even the largest of vessels to dock safely. It teemed with sea-life and seemed to be an inexhaustible source of income and nutrition for the population.
The cliffs and the surrounding hills were identified as a strong strategic asset by the first King Maxen. It was he who ordered the six guard towers to be carved into and built upon the highest peaks of the landscape and it was he who planned that Castle Llanomere be dug from the stone itself. A great architect, amongst his other qualities, Maxen guided the three streams that form high in the hills, into the moat for Castle Llanomere. From here, the fresh water cascaded down onto the middle tier of the city and is guided dutifully through a northern and a southern aqueduct. Providing the fresh water required for drinking and cleaning from one, and the necessary sanitary water-flow in the other. Residents quickly learnt which was which. The stone-wrought keep plays host to the current Duke of Llanomere, Orion Rhynn, who will become better known to us soon.
With the castle on the highest tier of Llanomere, and the docks on the lowest - at sea level, the majority of everything else - residential and commercial - lay in the middle level. This is where Deryn lived with Leonard Gruff, in a two-up, two-down fire-lit townhouse. Gruff himself had aged well, slightly more portly and with flecks of grey in his otherwise dark mane, he was the same man from all those years ago.
Deryn was employed by his guardian as the foreman's eyes in the shadows. He would sneakily patrol the dockyards; scurrying beneath the piers, sitting atop of ships' bird-nests or in the rafters of the warehouses. From these vantage points, he would ensure that no workers were attempting to make a little extra money, or trying to work a little less.
Snoozing dockworkers could find themselves being awoken by a swift nut pelting them from the darkness, some rattling-tin released near their ears, or even a gentle nudge into the lapping sea should the situation require. Deryn wasn’t resented though, he was so roguish and kind-hearted that he was impossible not to like.
Trading with the extremes of the continent, and with old friends and enemies alike across the turbid seas led to more and more ships docking each day. Piracy was at an all-time low and the ships were faster than ever. All this led to very busy days for our unlikely hero. Productivity soared during Deryn's stalking of the dockyards. He began to know it as his home and his playground, and he was grateful each and every day, to be working hard and, relatively, honestly.
With the passing years – Deryn grew up. He changed from the pallid, damp alley-child, into a fit young man. Lightweight and of average height, he sported medium length, dark brown hair – which he tied back, on most occasions, with warm, dark eyes. He started to take on more tasks within the dockyards; like labouring, ship-maintenance and even an unsuccessful stint as a fisherman before being nestling into the role of the dock-workers’ supervisor - which is the role we find him in at the start of our tale.
