Goyins

What will you see at a tavern in the middle of the night? A worn-out bar-keep that secretly wishes no one here tonight will puke themselves to death, well, he’s now polishing a glass, for a 67th time. A smell of sweet alcohol…you’re not thinking of mulled wine, are you? You are not going to find any kind of that.

There are only two types of alcohol in the Dire Bird, as there are only two types of beings here. One is a tired traveler whose sleepy eyelids could drag them down to the filthy floor and fall right into a sounding dream, he can’t even tell if it’s water or beer in the jar that he’s holding, and of course our honest Madam Charlotte served him with the best water she has, right from the sewer. The other, well, you can tell who they are just by their looks, they’re loud and rude, raising their jars and three quarters of their content split onto the floor, maybe end up in the mouth of a corpus. They’re not here either for the beer, or for the shelter, but for the crowd and the game. And since they don’t really care what’s in their jars as long as it can get them wasted, our dear Charlotte just pour them a nice jar of stale beer.

Which kind am I then? You ask.

As I am the protagonist of this narrative, you’ve probably guessed, I’m neither of them. I’m Goyins, the only true Knight here, well, unless there’s a real Knight here, but I don’t see any of them shining armors. So, that makes me Lancelot of this place! Fair lady, or lad. As you are here, how about buying me a drink? The bill is on you, surely. As a true Knight never carries any stinky coins with him, and that I owe the Madam a few gold coins, maybe some gems, too, she’s not going to sell me anything. You know what, the moment I laid my eyes on you, I immediately saw your gracious and merciful heart. You are not going to turn down this petite requête from such an honest soul, are you not?

Great, I know you’re a compassionated being! What do you desire to know? I won’t hesitate to tell, unless it’s my deep dark secret past. Just messing with you, I don’t have a past, nor do I have a future, the only thing I have, is this moment.

You still want to know? Huh? Guess it is pretty intriguing, how a Knight like me should end up in a place like this. Well, our story begins far away, at the City of Epontum. As I’m sure most of you have heard about this infamous city, but just in case you’re some hermit from an island, I’ll tell you what kind of a city Epontum is, or at least, was, I have not been back there for a long time, I won’t exactly be the best of your tour guide choices, sorry.

As for Epontum, you cannot, simply cannot find a better city in this realm. It was the paradise of all, the forever resort of all souls. All sins will be forgiven there, and all are welcomed. I was not lucky enough to be born in there, as my mother would say. Me myself, I didn’t really care. However, my quaint little village was just not big enough to hold a hatchling’s dream. So, I dreamt of Epontum every night, I dreamt of its golden framed fountains, I dreamt of its markets selling the best silks, basil, nutmeg, whatnot. I didn’t even know what those words mean at that time, I simply just stole them from my mom’s shopping lists which she gave my uncle, who was a merchant, he would travel to Epontum every weekend, and be back two days later with sacks full of goods, and pockets of amazing trinkets.

Thinking back, they were merely just cheap toys, like oak toy swords that are crafted beautifully, with engravings saying that “honored by King Erlenborn”. Those swords were nothing like what were sold in our village, with a well-polished smooth surface, they can even be balance on your claw tips, just like a real sword. I was scorned so many times for waving that sword everywhere, I shot at passers-by, claiming to be the true Knight of Epontum. Everyone just laughed, but one day, I met someone who didn’t. He was tall and also a Coatl, he was wearing those armors that I’ve always been dreaming about, battered with battle wounds, but still shining with proud, his sword was with a million tiny cracks, but even more terrifying. He stopped and looked at me carefully, he said, if you really want to be a knight, son, come to Epontum, and ask for Demieville. Remember that, I’ll train you myself.

That was when I took the belief that I will one day be an actual Knight, serving aside King Erlenborn. I would wear the shiniest armor in town, walk across the white marble avenue in front of the palace, my precious sword by my side, clicking against my belt, and as the sound of my boots soften on the frieze carpet, King Erlenborn would greet me himself (at that time I didn’t even know Erlenborn is a she), just like an old friend. Of course, some of my fantasies did come true later on, but not exactly how I imagined it.

More lore here.