Fish again tonight Ma!
Making nets was methodical, but boring work, and by now Arwyn could make them from muscle memory alone, leaving her mind plenty of time to wonder. Heahwafian was a small village that mostly thrived off its fishing trade. Centred around 4 tall rock outcrops that jutted out from the shallow sandy scrubland, the village was a cluster of wooden houses built on stilts, to keep out the sea water that ebbed in and out with the rise and fall of the ocean. The majority of deomann who lived there were Naturals, although a few Talented and Casters also lived there. At the beginning of every new season, scouts would be sent forwards to find Casters of age, who could be recruited to learn by trained Mage’s in Schirbaye. Located Casters could agree to be trained, and would be taken back to Schirbaye. Casters could also refuse the training if they wished, and often scouts would leave them with books filled with information about common casting spells. A few of the younger casters of her village had opted to train for a few years, to learn the basics of their powers, but returned before receiving the title of a trained Mage.
Arwyn herself was a natural. When she was little she had always seen it as being boring. Compared to Talented, or Mages, she felt quite mediocre. Getting older though, she saw it as less of a curse, and more as a blessing. Casters lost their soul, and eyesight to their magic, and had poorer life spans. While Arwyn did not have any magical ability, she had always been blessed with especially good health, even for a Natural. She knew she would outlive the other casters in her village.
Tightening the ropes of the net, Arwyn made sure they were secure. She pulled on opposite ends of the rope, making sure it did not break. So far it felt sturdy. It was still early evening, the weather was cooler, and the sky was starting to turn paler at its edges. Arwyn had finished earlier than she thought, and if she was quick, she could have enough time to check the net she had set up earlier that afternoon. She tried to hide her grin, as she quickly stowed the net on one of the many hooks underneath the house. Flexing her webbed fingers, she shed her outer tunic, stripping down to her tied shorts and vest. She would need to go wading, and swimming in some places, and there was no point in ruining more of her clothes in the muddy salty water.
She unhooked a small netted bag from under the house, and slipped it over her shoulder, where it stayed resting on the small of her back. She climbed down the rope bridge, landing in the water. So far, the water only came up to the back of her knees, but that could mean it would come up to her waist in places.
‘Ma, I’ll be back in time for tea!’ Arwyn shouted over her shoulder, as she waded out. Getting to the fishing net should not take too long, but that was dependent upon the tides. While Arwyn could swim well, swimming through a strong current was another matter. Most of her journey was spend trudging through salty marshland, where the mud was thick and black, and odd scrubby grass would stick out at odd interludes.
The marshland soon started being less muddy, and more sandy, as the mud turned into thick sand, and seawater replaced muddy saltwater. Arwyn was wading now, and the water was starting to edge up towards her waist. She headed on purposefully though, still sticking mostly to the edge of the estuary. Arwyn could follow the path of the estuary, as it was in the direction of her net.
The fishing net was at the mouth of the estuary, where the tide ebbed and flowed out of it, and small fish would swim back and forth. Arwyn grinned as she neared the place where the net was, pulling her netted bag off her back, and pulling her small knife out from where it was tied to her leg. Approaching the net slowly, she pulled it out of the water methodically, revealing several small fish, and one large fish trapped within it. Trying not to dislodge them with her excitement, Arwyn picked up one of the fish firmly by its body and untangled it from the net, and cut along the bottom of it’s body, gutting it quickly. She put the fish in her bag, and went through, killing and gutting the rest of them. She slung the bag back around her shoulder, and gathered up the fishing net, securing it around her shoulders to make her way back home.
The journey back home took Arwyn longer than it had to get there. The net and fish combined where heavy, especially as the net was heavy from being drenched with seawater. Arwyn put a strut in her step as she waded through the village though, and climbed up the rope ladder to her house, depositing the largest fish on the dinner table for supper.
‘We’ve got a good meal for dinner tonight Ma!’ she said confidently, pulling the other fish out of her bag to salt them so they would be preserved.
‘What, fish again? It’s the fifth time this week we’ll be eating it. You couldn’t have tried harder to get something different?’