Age of Azmoq: The Valantian Imperium

by Rajamayyoor Sharma

  That was true. I felt silly. I had completely forgotten to ask him his name. “Fair enough. So, what do you call yourself?”

  The old man’s smile widened.

  “The question is again so refreshing. People usually ask, ‘Who are you?’ By which they want to know your name. Or they ask, ‘What is your name?’ You asked me what I call myself, which can be different from my given name.”

  The old man seemed… a little off. I mean, I knew I had started the conversation a little awkwardly, but I didn’t think everything I was saying was weird.

  The old man continued to chatter. “But I am curious to know. I have stayed in the village for quite some time. What do the villagers call me?”

  Although a little weird, the old man seemed nice. I didn’t want him to feel we didn’t care, so I tried to make something up on the spot. Which was a bad idea, given I was terrible at improvising.

  “Well, we just call you the new comer.” I saw his smile falter. “Umm… but that was back when you first came to the village. Well, we then… saw that you used to sit on your mat all the time…” I mentally thanked Flora for that information. “… and you were a little old, so we called you… Old man on a mat, or Olmot for short.”

  Probably the worst name I could have come up with, but I really didn’t want him to feel uncared for, although there actually was no one in the village who did care for him. Only Parshtel and Johotei were getting anxious by his presence in the village, not that they cared in any other way.

  The old man positively lit up and guffawed. “Hahahaha! Olmot eh? Short for Old man on a mat! Hahaha! You are really bad at improvising aren’t you, young man! Coming up with a name at the last minute! But you know what… I like it. Why don’t you call me Olmot? Along with my past life, I want to forget my past name as well… From now on I call myself Olmot.”

  It was strange that a man wanted to forget his name. This man seemed weirder with every passing second.

  I replied, mustering a smile for this odd little man. “So be it… Olmot you are! Hope you have had a good time in Villasboro and continue to do so!”

  “I am sure I will.” With that Olmot got up. “I’m a little hungry, so I am going to head out to gather some food for my breakfast. You want to join me? We can continue our conversation over breakfast.”

  “I would love to. Where do you usually get your breakfast?”

  “There is a nice spot about a kilometer into the forest through here, where a bunch of Jackfruit trees grow. I usually go there to eat when I am on the south side.”

  I was happy to go along. But then I suddenly realized that I would be late for work if I went farther south although I was doing the job my master assigned to me, I didn’t feel right being late for work without taking Grim’s permission. Not that he would care. I cared about punctuality.

  I told Olmot this. “I am sorry, but I have to head back to the village for work. I really wish I could come. We could meet again in the evening if you are free? I would love to know more about your world.”

  “No problems. Let’s do that. Let’s meet on the north side, as I plan to go into the hills for a few days… Have a great day!”

  “Sure! I’ll see you there in the evening… around sun down!”

  And off went Olmot, holding his rolled up mat in one hand, into the southern forest area, to find his jackfruit breakfast. He seemed quite spry for a man of his age.

  I wondered why he would want to forget his name. A name was so fundamental to a person’s being. It was what you learned first as you began to identify the world. It was what everyone first identified you with. Then why would he want to forget his identity? It must have been due to an extremely painful and terrible reason. And I figured it was too early for me to ask him this question. I barely knew the man. But he definitely was an interesting person. It would be fun to know more about him and the world outside. It was anyway the mission given to me by Parshtel and my master.

  While I pondered over these questions as I was walking back, I realized, that this little trip had worked out quite well. It led to my first conversation with Olmot, the new comer to Villasboro.

  Chapter 2: Over the hills

  As I walked back, I thought the emotions I felt were a little strange.

  I didn’t remember ever wanting to talk to a person so much. My master spoke so little that one might have thought that he was verbally challenged. Others in the village spoke quite frugally as well. When my parents were around, I remember talking to them a lot. But never since did I have the opportunity to talk to someone properly. Till I met Olmot, I had forgotten how it felt to have a casual conversation with someone. I wondered as I walked back, why my fellow villagers were so parsimonious with their words.

  One answer I came up with was that the villagers never had any need to be curious. There were very few outsiders who came to the village. The rest of our surroundings, the forest, the hills, the lakes hadn’t changed for centuries. Without curiosity, there was no topic that people felt a need to talk about. But then, there had been travelers to Villasboro, even if few. Why didn’t anyone, not a single person, ever feel the need to reach out, talk to these strangers? At some point, someone’s curiosity should have been piqued. I had no good answers to these questions.

  I reached the shop to tell my master all about my encounter with Olmot. And he was nowhere in sight. I regretted not taking up Olmot’s (the name, as I was beginning to realize, I had picked for an actual human being) breakfast offer, since all I had eaten since the previous evening was my “Stranger meal.” I headed out to my master’s house which was just nearby to check on him and grab some food there. The houses in Villasboro were built such that each room was accessible from outside. For some curious reason, each house, from atop a tree, looked like an animal foot print. Grim’s house looked like a paw, with three toes. It had a central circular living room, surrounded by three circular rooms, each connected to the living room through just the internal doors.

  I entered the kitchen directly and found him there, having his breakfast. He pointed towards the cupboard, for me to pick up some food. He knew I always landed up at his place when I wanted to eat.

  “So, I met the newcomer,” I started. Grim raised his right eyebrow. He looked bemused. He never spoke during breakfast time. I knew that, but I had so many thoughts and questions, I didn’t think about his likes and dislikes. I just continued talking.

  “He seems like a really nice guy, although he is a little strange. He is an old guy. He says he is a traveler. I figure he has come here with the intention of settling down. That is why he stuck around for so long.”

  Grim kept listening, did not reply. He just continued to eat.

  “Might as well continue talking now that I have started,” I figured.

  “What I find strange about him is that he finds the villagers a little weird. He feels we are all different from the rest of the world. Which got me thinking—what is the rest of the world like? Why is it, that none of us have ever wondered about it and tried to explore? What do you think, Grim?”

  My master made it clear that he did not like to talk while eating. With a pained expression on his face he said, “Mm… Let’s talk in the shop.” It felt like those words took a lot out of him, so I didn’t disturb him after that. We continued our meal in silence and then headed for our shop.

  As soon as we hit the shop, I continued as if I hadn’t stopped, forgetting that I had asked him a question.

  “And get this, he wants to forget his real name! He asked me what name the villagers had given him. I lied and said we called him Olmot. Although he spotted my lie immediately, he was amused by it and liked the name. So he decided that he would call himself Olmot from now on! Who does that? Accept a clearly made up name from a stranger he just met?”

  Grim finally grunted a reply. “Hmmm… that is strange.”

  “So strange… Do you think others outside Villasboro are like that? Why do you think he wants to forget his name? Have you
met people like him before? Did you meet other people who were this strange when you went outside the village? Did you….”

  I paused as my master raised his hand. He had a pained smile on his face. “Too many questions.”

  I stopped talking and waited for him to reply. I knew I had rambled on, excited by my morning encounter.

  “I see you are excited. It is natural, as you met someone who wasn’t raised in this village. But you are asking too many questions at once. Let me try answer them all. Quickly. Then we can get back to work.”

  It was typical of Grim—trying to finish a conversation as quickly as possible. If it were up to him, he would try to finish off a conversation before it can even begin.

  “Well, I have had little personal experience with the outside world so I can’t really tell you whether they are weird in general or not. But the way I would think about this is, everyone in the world is different. Some, more than others. It doesn’t mean any single person is weirder than others. Everyone would seem weird to someone else in the world. But they are the way they are, because of their own experiences and past. To understand those differences, one must understand their past, their upbringing. Till then, everyone would seem weird.”

  That was an interesting thought, which gave me some pause. “That is true, Grim. When I think about our own village, I see so many differences. But for someone like Olmot, we all would seem similar.”

  Grim nodded. “I agree. Glad you got the point. Happy that we had this talk. Now let’s get back to work.”

  I was really annoyed. This was his way of trying to end our conversation. But I wanted to get more advice on Olmot and I wasn’t going to stop until I got it.

  “But what about Parshtel’s orders? I am sure Johotei and Parshtel would want to know more about this stranger… and if he posed any threat to our village.”

  I honestly didn’t think he did, but I thought alluding to a threat might get my master to continue talking, despite his apparent jaw disease which prevented him from participating in any conversation.

  My master looked at me, incredulously. “Him? A threat? Didn’t you say he was old? What threat could he possibly pose? I am sure one good knock from Parshtel would end any ‘threat’ from… Olmot, did you say?”

  “Yes, Olmot was the name I gave him. He may or may not be a big threat. I still think we should learn more about him before we conclude anything.”

  My master smiled. I think he understood what I really wanted.

  “Sure. Why don’t you continue to dig around? In the meanwhile, let’s get to work?”

  “Great! I am meeting him again today in the evening after work. He is going into the hills for a few days.”

  Grim shrugged, already gathering coal to light up the forge. As I said the words “going into the hills,” I got a flash of inspiration.

  “Hey, I have an idea! I could go with him into the hills to explore with him. I have never been there anyway. It could be fun. And I will get to know more about him.”

  Grim stopped moving the coal and looked at me quizzically. I wasn’t too sure what Grim was thinking at that point. He stared at me for a few seconds, then shrugged. “Sure. But be careful. You said it yourself, he could be a threat.”

  The corner of his mouth twitched as he said that.

  I was excited at this new prospect. Getting to know a mysterious outsider and exploring the hills for the first time. I could learn so much about the outside world from Olmot. He might even tell me about his past and his actual name.

  The day would have passed like any other, but for my excitement over the prospective trip. There really wasn’t much to do, as usual, and in a couple of hours, my master left the shop to roam the forests again. I had to wait for a couple of hours to make sure no new work was coming in before I left as well.

  I knew I had to talk to Olmot about exploring the hills together, but I was sure he would have no problem. It was obvious that the old man craved some company and conversation. As the day ended, I went home, packed some clothes in a piece of old tarp, packed some bread I had baked, picked up the book Flora gave me as an afterthought and rushed to the northern exit.

  The northern exit was the only active one we had to the village. Occasionally the villagers went to the hills just beyond the exit for some herbs. Few people in the village ate meat, but those who did, usually tried to hunt, cook and eat in the hills. I was sure Olmot also went to the hills to get some of his food. He couldn’t have grown anything as he didn’t own any land here. And there was only so much food one could find in the forests, before finding something deadly.

  I waited around for him for a couple of hours, before he turned up near the northern exit. It was close to dusk.

  “Hi there, Olmot!” I shouted out to him as I saw him emerge from behind the last building in the village before the exit, the village granary.

  “Hey there, kid! Good to see you again!” Olmot shouted back.

  As he came closer, he started to compliment me again on my naming skills, something I never knew I had.

  “Loved the name! Olmot! Thanks again for it. Took me the whole day getting used to it, but I love it!” Olmot beamed.

  “Glad you liked my obvious attempt at lying.” I smiled. “So what do you plan to do during your expedition into the hills?”

  “Well, I have been to the hills a few times, to explore and gather some food. This time around, I want to follow the brook and see where that takes me. This place has so much to offer that it will keep me busy for the rest of my life. I am sure you have explored a lot already?”

  It was embarrassing to tell him that I probably hadn’t seen the village’s surroundings as much as he had. I guess someone from outside would always find your home, the place you are so used to, more fascinating than you would.

  “Well, probably less than you have. I have a busy life, taking care of my farm all by myself and at the same time, working in the smith shop,” I retorted, somewhat defensively.

  He waved his hand and had an understanding tone as he spoke. “Oh, of course… I didn’t know you had two jobs here. It can be difficult to take some time out when you are working so hard. But then you are so young. I am sure you would have explored a lot more by the time you reach my age, even with so many jobs at hand.”

  He sounded a little amused, which was adding to my embarrassment. I tried to change the subject. “Sure… sure… Hey, I was thinking… What all can we find in these hills?”

  Olmot seemed intrigued. “Well, a lot many things—what do you want to know?”

  “Everything actually—haven’t been into the hills even once.”

  Olmot started to laugh, his eyes twinkling with amusement.

  “Hahahahaha! You Villasboro folks never fail to surprise me! How is it that you have never visited these hills? You have spent all of your years in this village, never ventured outside and you still haven’t even explored these tiny hills? How is that possible?”

  I felt embarrassed again. I knew I was still young, but when someone that old implied that I should have done something by then, it made me feel I hadn’t done enough in my life.

  “Well, usually parents take their children to the hills to explore and, if needed, hunt animals for food when they are around fifteen. My parents died before they could take me. After that, I started working for Forresgrim. And he… didn’t really bother to take me.”

  Olmot’s expression changed quite dramatically, from amusement to one of grief and sorrow. Now it was time for him to get embarrassed, having accidentally brought up such a sensitive topic.

  “Oh, I am so sorry! I didn’t realize your parents were no more. I didn’t want to bring up their death.”

  It was quite alright actually. It had been over ten years since the incident. I was sad about their demise for a long time, but my time with Forresgrim and other villagers had helped reduce my pain. That is something I do love about Villasboro to this day. They rallied around their own in times of grief.

 
“Don’t worry about it, Olmot. It was a long time ago.”

  Trying to move on, I said, “Anyway, after their death, I managed grow food on my lands, so I never had any reason to go into the hills.”

  Relieved at the change of subject, he said, “Oh I see. I guess everyone in this village does have land of their own. And who is this Forres… something?”

  And then, before I could reply, with a sudden look of surprise on his face, Olmot said, “I seem to be becoming a part of this village more and more! I didn’t even ask you your name! So, what do I call you?”

  After I told him my name, I also told him about Grim. “Forresgrim is the man who owns the smith shop where I work. I started to work with him after my parents died. He is a nice guy, but quiet. If you think I am an interesting person, you’ll find him… fascinating.”

  “I am sure I will,” Olmot said. He was quiet for a while, staring at me. “You have an interesting name.” Then he quickly added, “Here’s an idea. Why don’t you come with me into the hills? I’ll have someone to talk to and you can learn more about these hills firsthand.”

  I wondered what was so interesting in my name, but I didn’t really care at that moment. I was just excited about going into the hills.

  “I was going to ask you anyway! Glad you invited me!”

  Olmot nodded and started walking. We headed out towards the hills. The geography that surrounded Villasboro was beautiful. The dark forests that cover Villasboro on three sides let up on the fourth side to allow for beautiful green grass and shrubs to grow as we approached the hills. This was mostly done by settlers who created the village, to allow for some sense of space. The brook’s path was clearly seen for a while, till it disappeared over the first hill. Once we reached the hills, after a small walk, the forests gradually became dense again. The sight was magnificent. I was looking forward to seeing the view from the top of the hills as well.

  I hoped we could even figure out what lay on the other side of the hills. Not many in the village had bothered to explore all the hills, in typical Villasboro fashion. It was possible Olmot and I would have been the first ones to explore what lay beyond. Although I was not sure we would be able to. There were about 20—25 hills around Villasboro arranged in about four arcs outwards from the village. The distance to the outer most arc was probably about 10 kilometers out, through dense and uneven terrain.