Altan Carlier

[Altan Carlier 21]

Chapter 1: A journey begins

 

"What?! Leaving?"  Roger's face turns red as he throws his plate full with pork through the room. Altan dodges the attack and retains his determined frown. "Yes father, I have to do this on my own." Roger is taken aback by the surprisingly dapper words and takes a deep breath, calming himself down. His son takes a seat in front of him and explains to him why he wants to leave his paternal home.

 

Altan has always had everything he wanted. Roger Carlier, his father, was a very wealthy merchant up in the north. With the move to Vailor, Roger had made some clever investments and had gotten hold of a large sum of money. He used this to purchase a large plot of land in the snowy plains and from there, he built a well-oiled empire. Shortly after the rise of his business, the economical mastermind already felt that his wealth meant nothing without someone to share it with. He sold everything and decided to live alone in a grand mansion near a small village. Every day he would buy his groceries personally in the town's humble market. It is there he met Veerla, a 30-something woman who had lost her previous husband in a tragic fire. She saw him everyday, wearing his expensive clothes and always tipping generously. But it was not the size of his wallet, but his look of confidence and an aura of wisdom that attracted her towards him. They married and Veerla gave birth to a single son, Altan Carlier.

 

Shortly after Altan's birth, Veerla passed away. She lost too much blood during the procedure and fought an uphill battle for weeks. Roger saw his wife suffer and started to resent Altan for the death of his beloved. Altan himself never knew his mother and grew up in isolation. Roger barely spoke with Altan and almost never left the house anymore. He'd let his servants buy the groceries and the inhabitants of the town near the large Carlier mansion were starting wonder what happened to the once so cheerful Roger.

 

In an attempt to make Altan useful, without having to do anything himself, Roger surrounded him with the most prestigious teachers money could buy. They thought him how to read, politics, geography, biology, rhetoric, basically everything that Roger found useful. But despite the many efforts to impress his father, Altan could never earn his love. He excelled in any intellectual challenge he took, but could never make Roger proud.

 

This lead to many frustrations within Altan. He grew restless and angry. He started to hate everyone around him, especially his father. He felt like all his efforts were pointless and felt imprisoned in his own fatherly home. At the age of 18, he denounced all his teachers. Also Roger didn't see the need in further educating him. For a couple years they lived in the same house, but lead their own separate lives. 

 

One day Altan was walking through the small village near the mansion. He noticed a homeless man sitting against a lone wall, with the biggest smile upon his face he's ever seen. Cynical as he is, he approaches the man. "You have more dirt on your body than you have clothes. Why would you smile like you've won a prize bull?"  The homeless person chuckles and shakes his head. Altan's face turns red "Answer me, filth!" he thunders. The poor man just laughs. Altan leaves, furiously. How dare this low-life mock him? He returns home, but the sight of the homeless man never really leaves his mind.

 

That night, Altan can't fall asleep. He's more angry than he's ever been in his life. All the frustration in his body bottles up and he can't stay still for a split second. He decides to go for a nightly walk, as he's sure he won't be able to sleep anytime soon. 

 

-to be continued-