It took time to construct. While that was going on, Celosia was in the forest. She did not appear to me anymore sadly. Petraa and Jeran were also real knights serving all of the Swifthearts. They decided to just combine their plots together since they were a tribe. That meant their land was 200x100 meters. Housing was not something they wanted. Other than a structure that looked like stables and a training area that looked like a jousting track, they were fine to keep the area unsettled. The stables were to keep out of the rain and the elements of the weather. Centaurs could still get cold in winter and hot in summer. They also wanted to train their children in the ways of the warrior. That required an armory to store their weapons. It was made for them right outside the jousting track. The children were expected to be able to run fast, shoot arrows effectively and strike hard. There was nothing wrong with that. Cavalry knights would be great for us. The plot of land included the big clearing where our mighty shaman, Enetes, communed with the Great Spirits. They were all happy. I was too.
Discretion was the better part of valor. There was an elf that liked to wander around town. I asked him if he could read and write. He looked at me in pure confusion. It was if I had asked him the color of the sky. "Doesn't everyone know how to read and write!?" he asked. I shook my head. "Language is not innate. You have to learn it. What languages are you literate in?" I explained. He was totally fluent in Common and Elvish. He was conversational in the many dialects of beastkin speech as well. I knew for a fact that many of the builders and mercenaries we brought with us were totally illiterate. He recoiled in horror. "How can that be possible!? Did they not have parents to teach them?" he demanded. I offered a tutoring position at my home. As an elf, he wanted a salary for his work. I gave him an emerald. He gasped loudly. "Are you sure you wish to give me something so valuable!? A gem of this size can hold maybe half a dozen charges of an elemental spell!" he marvelled. "It is a live in position. You will have to live in my house and teach my children. Their family too."
I meant illiterate family members. I do not know the first thing about magic, so if you want to put magic in the emerald, you can do it. I'd simply ask you not to destroy my houses while experimenting. If you could teach low level magic to my children, that would be nice too." He was too focused on the gem to respond. I waved my hand in front of his face to regain his attention. "O-of course, Sir Rhombus! I will gather my things immediately." His name was Lyari Olocan. When he saw the huge space, he was wide eyed. I took him to one of the office spaces that I had empty. "This will be a space for your language tutoring. The other study will be for your magic." He was ecstatic. I told him more people were coming. He could not claim the house's master bedroom. Lyari Olocan was having a nice time teaching Grissell, Yon and Alard how to read and write. They were in the very beginning stages, but it was looking like it would work out. Compassion aside, it was something that I did for the sake of having heirs. These boys would be knights. I was met by Grissell. She did not look happy.
