Knowing it was useless to dwell on the past, Wilson just let those thoughts be. He could not question the people involved back then. John was always loyal to him, and he might have hidden those documents to safeguard his assets. Out of foolishness back then, he had given a few significant resources to Alphonsus during his weakest time.
Now that it had come to his attention that he owned that mine, he would make sure to inspect it and see how he could develop it. Iron was a good source of minerals for their military. He knew of a few conflicts on the border, and he could use the iron to make weapons and possibly trade a few things he could use in their territory. Alexus would probably help him out by that time or even be the client himself for the deal.
As for the gems, he needed to see what type of gems were there. Depending on their rarity and value, he would see if it was plausible to use them for trade or manufacturing. The West had a surplus of gems in the market for a while now. If the gems found in the mine clashed with what was available, it would be better to use the gems for themselves.
His father and his knights arrived a short while later. Storing their purchases, they then continued their journey home. They stopped at one village to rest for the night, then finally arrived home the next night.
Hearing a bellowing horn from the distant watch tower, Wilson finally got to see the outline of his home. A manor that spoke of time forgotten, made from woods of olden times and stones of the boulders of the mountain. A huge forest of trees of different heights and age; the deeper they went into the forest, the more massive, older, and impressive they were.
"Welcome home, son," the Earl said as they got closer. "Rhinies welcomes back her grandchild, Thymes embraces your return, and Morrigan blesses you home."
Hearing these welcoming words of their people, Wilson replied with eyes closed and a hand just below his ribs. "This child is back. Home at last to protect his grandmother, to safeguard his ancestor, and to defend the Lady's lands."
Wilson seemed to hear a faint sigh as he said the response to the blessing. Then a warm feeling seemed to surround him, like something was responding to him. It was a strange feeling, but Wilson felt settled and happy as it seemed to wrap him with great warmth.
At the entrance of the manor was his mother. She was a plump woman with average height. Her eyes were of the skies at twilight, deep blue almost like amethyst when the moonlight touched them. Her hair was of the warm earth after it cooled down after a downpour. On her arms was their youngest, who had inherited her eyes and hair, aged around a year.
Beside her were his siblings. The second of the family was his brother, Henry, only thirteen of age. He was a copy of their father, a close likeness to him in all aspects.
Beside him was the third of the family, Morgana, only eleven years of age. So young but already showing her remarkable beauty that should also bloom in time. Blonde-haired with their mother's amethyst eyes.
Next were the twins, Ronald and Regina, currently eight years of age. Among their family, they looked different as they inherited more of their mother's line. They had darker hair, almost black but of rich brown when sunlight touched them. Their eyes were of the touch of the deepest sapphire. These were traits of the house of Bolein, a baron located at the eastern side of the kingdom.
They all looked good and healthy. It almost perfectly overlapped the image prior to his blindness back then. At that time, they had not yet been stepped over by others.
His father eagerly approached his wife. With a few private murmured words between spouses, he kissed the mother of his children on the forehead. The woman responded in kind, kissing him by the chin, which was all she could reach.
Seeing the two getting along well, Wilson slowly approached his mother. She noticed his approach and looked at him warmly.
"Mother," Wilson said to his mother. He wanted to embrace her, but he was mindful of hurting their youngest. He was so small and fragile that he was afraid to get near.
The woman gave her youngest to her husband before giving her oldest a tight hug. "Welcome back, my son. May the winds have made your journey home worthwhile."
Returning the gesture, Wilson responded in kind. Not in the way of Rhinies, but of his mother's roots back in the east. "The eastern wind guided me home with great care of the great mothers from the seas."
His mother released her embrace and gave him a kiss on his cheek. She then turned to the rest of her children. "Children, your brother is home."
With eager eyes, the children looked at him with feverish warmth. They greeted him in their childish voices.
"Welcome home, brother. May the sturdy tree of Thymes shelter you home for a long time."
Chuckling as the children were now starting to join in the blessings, Wilson approached them and gathered them in his arms.
"I'm back. With the Grace of the great tree and by the Lady Morrigan's will, ever be my home's hearth burning."
The children excitedly returned his hug. Pleased to hear his response to their wish for him to stay home. They had missed him; five years was a long time without their dependable brother. It just felt so wrong without him at home.
"You're staying for good, right?" Henry asked. "You better not take back your words."
"I'm sure," Wilson replied with a smile. "It is blasphemy to bring the Lady's name to anything you don't mean."
Henry broke into a bigger grin hearing that. The rest of the siblings cheered to the positive acknowledgment. They wanted to jump on him like they used to before he went to the academy. However, their mother was not having them do that.
With a light scolding, the children were schooled by their mother. They could only be grumpy about it. But they were quick to bounce back as they dragged their brother inside their home with the excitement of energetic puppies.
Wilson could hear their mother calling them, but he couldn't bear to be a spoilsport with his siblings' antics. So with a cheeky shout from a distance as they disappeared inside, he told his mother they'd be at dinner later. This made their mother respond with another shout about them being too unruly. On the side, he could hear his father coaxing their mother while shouting they better be in the dining room later.
Wilson didn't respond to that and just laughed along with his siblings as they walked through the halls. As the skies were now dark, the moon's gentle light illuminated their way. Though in some halls where the light did not reach, a few lamps and candles lit up their way.
Following his siblings' lead, they reached the courtyard. They only stopped when they reached the maze of plants in the garden. They looked around like they were searching for something. After a few moments, they seemed to find what they were looking for.
Henry instructed him to sit on the bench as he directed his younger siblings to fetch whatever they were looking for.
"What is this?" Wilson said as the children placed various things on his lap. Each child gave him one gift personally.
"Gift," Regina said. She was struggling to speak more, but it was clear she took after their father in regards to her conversation skills.
"Thank you?" Wilson didn't know what to say as he was simply not expecting to receive anything from them.
He then examined the things they gave him. Seeing them, Wilson's expression changed.
"Do you know the value of these things?" Wilson asked his siblings. "These things are something reserved for your futures. Especially for you, Morgana and Regina. They are from the thousand-year-old cedar tree from our great ancestors' tree. It is part of your dowries when you get married."
"Don't worry, brother," Morgana said carefreely. "This was from the branches that fell off from one of those trees. It was a big branch that most of it was made into a cabinet. This was a leftover piece from that. We're told it was valuable, so to let you know how much we appreciate you home, I'm giving you this wood."
Wilson turned to Regina who nodded along with Morgana's words. Sighing, he had no choice but to accept the wood. Although it was just small pieces of the said branch, it was enough to create small things that would make other nobles crazy with jealousy. Thousand-year-old cedar tree wood was a non-renewable resource that was hard to find. Not to mention the ones that their family had might even be older than that.
After all, in Rhinies, for every girl born, Fir and Cedar trees are planted based on the family's capacity. This served as a part of the woman's dowry when they got married and something that would be passed on to their daughters as well. A third-generation or older tree is used for building the newlywed's house, the second generation is used for their family's initial funds to build their family. The ones planted at birth are usually left to be to await for maturity at a descendant's new life.
If a family is wealthy enough not to rely on the trees or they have an excess of them, the trees are passed down to the daughters born later. This ensures quality wood over time and a source of wealth and backbone for a new bride. This practice still lives on and is one of the reasons Rhinies thrives on timber with lush forestry despite the demand.
"How about you boys?" Wilson asked them as he saw delicate weapons with exquisite craftsmanship and rare materials. "These are made for your future rite of passage. You can't just give it away."
"The rite of passage is to prove ourselves capable," Henry said. "We can pass it with something else. But we only have one Eldest brother. So we want you to keep it."
Wilson heard them and knew he could not return these weapons. It was an entrusting of a life, a great show of trust here on Rhinies. Gifting weapons, especially those that held meaning, meant you were leaving your life in the hands of the other. For boys are taught to be protectors and warriors, a weapon is a part of them and is a symbol of their identity.
"You guys had grown too cheeky during the time I was away," Wilson said with a sigh. "Whose idea was it to give me these?"
"Mine," Ronald said with a shy expression. "The calendar back then was too crude even if it was made from a three-hundred-year-old cedar wood. I figured to give you some to welcome you home, but they heard me and they followed suit."
"Simple things are appreciated, my brothers and sisters," Wilson said as he took off his coat and wrapped the gifts with it. "I need no elaborate gifts from you guys. A simple greeting, maybe a bite of food, and you all being healthy and well is the best thing you can give me."
"We know that," Henry said, but he sounded unrepentant with his following words. "Still, you deserve the best things."
Pinching his brother's cheek in amusement, he assured them he would take care of the gifts well. And to make them behave, he told them to head to dinner first while he headed to his room to refresh before joining them. Obedient to his instructions, the children raced among themselves as he could only shake his head and left the courtyard after they disappeared at a turn of a corridor.