Litam Vets came down from the Rocky Hills without a horse. He wore sandals, shorts, a light linen cloak, and a wide-brimmed grass hat. Roads gravelly and coarse, crumbling and slipping, travelers rarely went uphill, only down. Everything went toward the Capitol, and Litiam went too. He was looking for money, but more importantly he was looking for a Patron.

  Rocky Hills folk found little mention in the literature of that time. Situated below the Pauper Colonies near the Winter Palace, their land was unsuitable for farming. The Capitol Aristocrats had a certain affection for small villages and their humble folk; the bias was all caught up discriminating against Paupers. Village Folk, in images and advertisement, looked simple, clean, and traditional. Rarely did these images mention particular villages or traditions.

  Litiam grew up herding goats and sheep. He preferred goats because they were more fun, and harder to handle. He wrangled. He even tried his hand at wrangling beasts, but he nearly lost his leg fighting a Giant Rockboar and he quickly decided to avoid "risky professions." Everyone knew that Litiam's luck was incredibly good. That was why he'd escaped the Rockboar uninjured, and that was why he thought he would be able to find a Patron.

  Litiam had a tall, lanky build; long, sandy hair; and a long face. He didn't look particularly handsome. In fact, he normally seemed glum and pouting. His reactions were earnest, though, and his occasional smiles looked bright, but sad. Nobody knew why a herding boy from Rocky Hills should be so sad all the time.

  When Litiam got to the bars at Rock Hill Stair, he started drinking and asking questions. Over the course of an evening, he worked his way down to Rock Hill Junction. In that way, he spent all of his money. To recoup, he spent a week washing dishes. The folks at those bars told him three important things. First, to find a Patron, he would need to get a Quality Card. Second, when speaking with Women, he must never mention sex. Third, he must worship Eukaryos, or at least pretend to be interested in conversion.

  To get a Quality Card, Litiam decided to walk to Deim Groves. The way was long and flat, a dusty summer road in the shade of tall oaks. Wagons passed him frequently, but nobody offered him a ride. He slept in the woods a few nights. In Deim Grove Town, he made an appointment for Assessment, then went back to the woods and camped a few days. The Assessment went well enough, because Litiam had no expectations or ambitions. His card looked like this:

  Rank 3

  Family Name: Vets / Personal Name: Litiam

  Origin: Rocky Hills / Birth Date: 653 Summer / Order-Office: Green Wheel

  Class Shepherd / Charge: Worker

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  Speed 73 Spirit 43

  Strength 67 Willpower 36

  Endurance 85 Perception 72

  Dexterity 70 Intelligence 41

  Grace 63 Creativity 49

  Tool Craft 2 / Construction 1 / Hunting 3 / Herding 5

  Common Language 3 / Cooking 1 / Trapping 3 / Music 1 / Riding 1

  The Quality Office gave him a Career Suggestion Certificate: "Tier One (Optimal Choices): Soldier - Bow Fighter, Worker - Hunter." Litiam scoffed at these suggestions because of his personal rule against dangerous careers. While cooking dinner, he crumpled up the certificate and threw it into his campfire. Yet that evening, when the fire fell to coals and he looked up at the stars, he fantasized briefly about being a heroic Bow Fighter. In the Grossdale War, amid the crumbling walls of Blockassew, he surely could have slain three men with three arrows in three seconds. Perhaps his bias against dangerous careers had cost him a heroic destiny. Perhaps his freedom was a burden.

  By the morning, his inhibitions had vanished. Strange hybrid dreams had convinced him, somehow, that a life of luxury in the Capitol might have its own kind of heroism. He broke camp and went back into town to register with the Guild of Hunters. He hunted for a few weeks in the Groves, bought a Yew Shortbow and Leather Bracers, then took a wagon to the Formal Gardens. There, he joined a hunting party and received Green Wheel Livery.

  Certainly, women cooed over him and flirted with him. He praised Eukaryos politely. He concealed his sexuality almost completely. The women he liked, elegant and indecisive, wanted Litiam to sit quietly at cafe tables or lurk in the background like a bodyguard. A certain princess made a habit of asking him to finish her meals. They rode horses alone together. She was betrothed, though, and she engaged male servants only briefly. When she dismissed him, after two weeks, she offered her most sensitive regrets.

  The women he feared, severe and insinuating, gave him particular orders, ignoring his feelings. A silver-haired aristocrat, doughty and dignified, became mysteriously conspiratorial when they hunted alone. She said, "When you next see a hind or elk, especially if it's a magnificent one, especially if it has great antlers, could you bring it down slowly? To finish it with your knife?" Litiam did not understand, so she explained, "I mean, wound it with an arrow and bring it down in the grass. Without poison, if possible. I want to see what happens when an animal dies. I mean, I want to see what happens... in its eyes. So, we both must approach it, when it has fallen. I shall stand a few feet away." He did as she asked.

  The next day, Litiam bought a wagon ticket and returned to Rock Hill Junction. He had saved a lot of money by that time. He went back to the village and visited his family. He built a waterwheel in Rock Hill Canyon and used it to irrigate a large vegetable garden. He married Tabitha Gulche, a Tavern Keeper, and they had seven children.