The majestic peaks spired towards the first sun, their snowless surface a silvery grey in the morning's yellow light. As with many mountains, these had their fair share of caves and caverns and for centuries these had been taken advantage of. After all, why build a property from the ground up when there was a perfectly useable shelter there? Of course, the interiors had been upgraded as advancements were made, damp proofing, lighting, heating and long slopes and walkways had been formed to reach the now covered entrances. Some even had artificial attachments to increase the inhabitable space.
These days, the mountains were occupied by those who need not touch the dirt, such as scholars, librarians, architects. Those who farmed had moved from their cavernous origins long ago and had to make do with structures built by hand. The Win family was not one of them.
The Win family was sort of infamous, not due to misdeeds or ill thought practices, but simply as it was a very old and very large bloodline. They owned a whole mountain as part of their family estate and that was rumoured not to be able to hold the numerous members, thus external dwellings had cropped up attached to its side or built at it's base. The rumour was not far wrong. What was little known was the fact that they had actually extended downwards as well. A whole mess of communal kitchens, dining rooms and bathhouses were below sea level.
O'vel-win was the third son of the fifth son born to the cousin of the current family head. This simply meant that it was unlikely that he would ever be expected to participate in making important family decisions. This was fine to both him and most of the adults as he was considered slightly odd.
The Win family mostly found their livelihoods centred around the Great Library, which was the central foundation of the people. O'vel-win's older brothers and his father were Teachers, appointed the task of giving children the ability to read and write so that they could gain knowledge from the Library. Many uncles and aunts were scribes and copiests, writing and rewriting the books and scrolls held by the Library. Another branch of the family, who lived at the base of the mountain, made the paper that all required.
O'vel-win was a 'technician'. It was a relatively new occupation and revolved around the thing known as the 'Machine.'
There were varying views about the Machine, but most were not good. The creators of it wished to create something that could store the entire knowledge of the Library into a smaller space, much like voices could be recorded on tape and views could be recorded on film. But there were those who feared the Machine as it was new and strange and there were those traditionalists who hated it as much as they hated the new tapes and films; words should be recorded on paper, voices recorded as words and pictures drawn by hand.
Due to the controversy of the project, the Machine was stored deep underground beneath an abandoned mine. All about the mine entrance were warnings that it was unsafe and the foliage grew wild, all to hide the fact that the Machine was located there. Right now, a great deal of smoke was billowing out of the vents dotted about the sight.
O'vel-win coughed and spluttered as did many of his colleagues. He lifted his glasses from his face, which was now stained black. "Well that was unexpected," he mused.
"What, by the triad, happened here?" T'tin-duu, one of the Machine's creators asked.
"The new tape perhaps?" O'vel-win suggested.
"Yes, perhaps the material used is not durable enough," another voice mentioned.
"I'll talk to the people tweaking the product," T'tin-duu told them. "For now, clear this up. You can all go home early."
They were taken by coach to the nearby trading town, before they separated and went to their family estates. O'vel-win had an hour's walk from here, but he did not mind it. All three suns were well into the sky by the time he reached the estate, but fortunately, the trees growing either side of the well worn path provided enough shade for him. Not that his dark skin tended to burn, but it would be unpleasantly hot to walk in full sunlight.
He waved at several family members, before taking a side path up the west side of the mountain, through a tunnel that divided one brother's family from another. That led him to a higher slope and another tunnel and another slope. He was close to a hundred feet up the mountain by the time he reached his immediate families rooms. There, he lived with his mother, father, second brother, fourth brother and little sister and his little cousin. First brother had been married five years and moved into his own space with his wife. His little cousin's mother was unwed and died giving birth to him.
That little cousin, L'nan-win was the first to greet him, the dark skinned boy had stunning pure white hair, which was as long as a girl's. "Big cousin!" He cried out and hugged the man's thigh with his tiny arms. O'vel-win returned his hug and smiled at his with warm eyes.
"How's my favourite cousin?" He asked the boy.
"You shouldn't play favourites," his mother appeared from their kitchen garden, which was formed on a small plateau beside their rooms. She wiped the dirt onto her apron and continued to chide him; "You know how upset J'ven-win and J'moe-win get when they overhear you say such things. Not to mention H'lua-win."
O'vel-win winced as the last name was spoken. That H'lua-win had a crush on him was no secret and they were not so close in bloodline that they could not wed with approval. But the girl did not hold his interest at all. He turned and winked at L'nan-win. "Still my favourite," he winked. "Just don't tell anyone!"
"I won't!" The boy promised.
His mother rolled her eyes. "Go get cleaned up in time for dinner," she told them both.
O'vel-win entered the wash room with L'nan-win, grabbed a spare cloth and soaked it in the warm water in the basin. Then he proceeded to wash the boy, who had shed his garments and tossed them into the basket ready for cleaning, before he turned attention to himself. It was no soak in the bath house, but then there was no need for him to descend into the mountain depths either.
He was not a large man, his height was fairly average and he lacked the muscles found on a labourer. His belly tended to be on the softer side, not overly so, as the walking he had to do kept the weight from increasing, but it would swell after a good meal. He couldn't be considered handsome, his round face was nice to look at, but girls always seemed to became enamoured by his broad smile and warm eyes. He took a comb to his silver tipped, white hair and thought he might trim it as it was nearing his shoulders in length. After washing, they dressed in casual clothes meant for lazing about the home.
By the time that they had left the washroom, his mother had gathered and prepared a few snacks for them. They would eat with the other families at dinner in one of the many halls, but during the day, many family members were working outside of the estate, there was no need to fuss in the kitchens.
"Will you never consider H'lua-win as a bride?" His mother asked him as he bit into a piece of fruit.
He wiped the citrus juice from his chin before answering; "No, mother," O'vel-win replied. "I don't hate her, but I cannot see her that way."
"I shouldn't ask," his mother sighed. "I know you are as stubborn as your father once you have made up your mind. It is just that her mother came to call on me again. Both mother and daughter are too spoiled, used to getting their own way. Don't worry, I will talk to them and the family head, if they do not except. I just want you to be happy."
"I know, mother," he said, with a smile that once more lit up his face. "There is someone out there for me, I just haven't met them yet. But I believe they wait for me, just as I wait for them."
"So much like your father," the woman smiled indulgently.
O'vel-win did not answer. His heart was crying out to that person he had not met yet; where are you?
Author's note; so far winging this.. hoping for a good outcome in the end ha ha