La historia de nuestra familia es tan antigua como el imperio mismo; incluso para nosotros, los Castillo, es difícil saber con certeza cuáles de las historias de nuestros antepasados son reales o cuáles son exageraciones de generaciones con egos desmesurados. De esos que creen que inflar sus acciones hará su existencia más gloriosa. No… no, las cosas no funcionan así. Cosas como el honor, la gloria y el respeto se ganan. Sobre todo, el respeto.
Tal como lo hizo nuestro progenitor, Sir Pérez Castillo. El que salvó la región de la Serpiente Blanca. Sí, ese Pérez, quien luchó valientemente contra la tribu de los hombres topo, y a quien nadie pudo quebrar sus defensas.
Gracias a esa hazaña, fue recompensado con el derecho a llevar un apellido, y eligió Castillo, en honor al castillo que protegía.
Es una pena que todo el esfuerzo de nuestro progenitor fuera arruinado por sus descendientes, y que, con el tiempo, la prestigiosa familia cayera en decadencia.
Sí, somos lo que queda. Los vestigios que dejó la familia.
Después de contarnos una larga historia que me pareció interesante,
El anciano roedor tomó un gran trago de su cerveza.
Resultó que toda la caravana era una sola familia. Los Castillo.
Una familia errante que viaja de ciudad en ciudad vendiendo su famosa cerveza. La cual, admito, es muy buena.
Fueron muy acogedores y animados. Sobre todo el patriarca.
Al principio me pareció extraño que tuvieran apellido, ya que en este mundo no cualquiera posee uno.
Cuando le pregunté al respecto, vi cuántos niños y jóvenes se sentaban a su alrededor para escuchar la historia. El anciano era un buen narrador; incluso logró engancharme. Si las historias eran ciertas o no era harina de otro costal.
El lugar estaba muy animado; había música y baile. Sin duda, estos individuos sabían cómo divertirse.
Nos dejaron dormir en uno de los vagones. Uno de los miembros se acercó para darnos un par de mantas hechas con pieles de ciertos animales.
Y en el momento en que mi espalda tocó el suelo del vagón, el sueño me reclamó.
Horas después me desperté con ganas de orinar y noté que Faty no estaba. Por un momento me preocupé, pero al salir, vi a Faty hablando con Pérez Segundo. Parecía que le estaba aconsejando sobre cómo lidiar con la culpa que seguramente lo carcomía.
Para no interrumpir, fui a atender mis necesidades y luego volví a dormir. Quizás mañana las cosas mejoren para ambos.
Parecía que la conversación nocturna que Faty tuvo fue muy beneficiosa. Pude ver cómo le brillaban los ojos, un contraste muy diferente al de hacía unos días. Apagados, llenos de culpa e incomodidad.
Since they were also heading to the capital, we decided to accompany them. We climbed onto the roofs of the carriages, and I was surprised by the number of individuals in this caravan.The women and children were in two of the three carriages, and the adults were controlling the zebrayos, while the rest were riding gigantic goats.
Where did they come from?
I also saw others climbing onto the roofs of the carriages, each carrying a crossbow, in case bandits appeared or any threat emerged against the caravan.
The journey went smoothly during the first few days.After breakfast, we traveled until midday, then rested for lunch, and afterward resumed the journey until the sun hid itself.
At each rest, I laughed as I watched the little rat children cling to Faty's chubby body.I enjoyed watching him play like just another child with the rest of the kids.Faty would summon his water fish and make it swim through the camp, causing the children to try to catch it.
"Flo…w, Flow. I, I brought you a…"
"Thank you, Sonnia," I said as I received the plate full of fried corn.I saw her blush, and with her little hands she covered her face before running away.
Sonnia was Pérez's eldest granddaughter. She was very shy whenever she approached me. Maybe she likes me, and she really is cute.
With a smile on my face, I began to eat the snacks, which were candied with sugar.
A week later, on the banks of a stream, the camp decided to stop and settle in.Faty, showing off his skill, controlled the water to make the women's work easier. By this point, we had already become familiar with almost the entire Castillo family.
Like Gordon, Pérez's sixth son, who was teaching Faty how to properly create a water crossbow.
Or Luna, Pérez's eldest daughter, chubby, but with a wide smile that was contagious. I suspect she is the reason why some members of the family are somewhat obese.She loved cooking, and above all, she enjoyed watching others eat her food.
Because of that, Faty was very dear to her. Unlike me, he never refused a single plate of her cooking.
Meanwhile, I offered to teach the youngest children how to read, easing the burden on some of the aunts.
On the other hand, there was Sonnia, who little by little lost her shyness toward me, and we began to have short but interesting conversations. Especially about the excitement she felt at visiting the capital for the first time.
Sonnia, like me, had come of age in the same year. Like anyone of her race, she was short. About 1.60 meters tall. Her hair was short, and her face shared her mouse-like features, giving her an interesting appearance. Her curvy body, and above all her abundant breasts, which her clothes could not hide. And her tail was long, with short white fur that somehow accentuated her charm.
Perhaps because I am a hybrid, my standards of beauty are distorted. Because for some reason, pure human women seemed less attractive to me.
It was a topic I should reflect on in the distant future.
Sonnia confessed to me in one of our conversations that she truly hated long journeys.
For more than six days of travel, she had to endure the complaints of her little cousins or nephews, who could be very noisy at times. That is why she was very grateful to Faty, who somehow managed to entertain the little devils.
She also told me that before, when she was younger, her grandfather had been very strict with the rules of the caravan.
Those rules were things such as:
° The caravan could not stop: only in extreme cases, such as breakdowns or serious illness of a family member, were exceptions allowed.
° Life on the equipment: if one wagon stopped, all the others had to do the same, and no matter what happened, no one was left behind. Even if they had to abandon the wagon and their belongings, not a single family member could be left away from the rest.
° Camping at night during a journey was strictly forbidden: for that reason, members had to sleep inside the wagons, and the drivers had to take turns so as not to stop in the darkness. If someone wanted to sleep outside the wagon, they would do so during the day.
Those were just some of the rules that bothered the family the most.
As she vented her complaints, furrowing her beautiful brow,I had only one comment about the old man.
What an incredible individual.
In a hostile world, filled with monsters and magic, with dragons and fairies, but above all, a world filled with human violence.
Those rules made it possible for the Castillo family to survive more than 27 attacks.
Nowadays, he is no longer as strict. Maybe it is due to old age, or something else.
Of course, all those rules were still followed. But no longer as strictly as before.
And many thought that this was normal. Today, he proved once again that the old man's paranoia has solid arguments.
At dusk, while they were traveling along one of the empire's battered roads, surrounded by tall grass, multicolored flowers, and large trees adorning the view, Pérez spotted nearby the corpse of a massive beast of burden lying in the middle of the road.
Instantly, Pérez took his crossbow and fired. The shot went into the tall grass, into the unfathomable nothing, into the land of fertile fields, and at that moment the entire caravan stopped. Everyone without a weapon took cover. And those riding goats moved behind the carriages, drawing their daggers.
Pérez furrowed his brow, and this time ordered everyone who had a crossbow to fire into the immense sea of grass. And this time, the screams of some men hiding in the brush could be heard.The screams carried panic, fear, rage, and horror…
At that moment, I stood up and let out a loud shout.
"Faty! E.A.!"
Al oírme, Faty saltó del otro vagón al suelo y juntó las manos. Reunió todo su maná.
Una enorme cúpula de agua rodeó toda la caravana. Luego, cambió a otro sello, y la gran cúpula explotó en miles de agujas afiladas que cayeron como una lluvia sobre el mar de hierba.
Provocando cientos de gritos agonizantes.
Por primera vez fui testigo de lo monstruosas que pueden llegar a ser las personas con tales habilidades.