His shop and warehouse on the edge of the city docks became a place where a word — and a handshake — could always be trusted. It was this very nature that made him a natural source of support for the young pilot Arëvin Lärkän. A friendship that began as a working relationship with her father grew, in time, into something deeper. Arinûs was always the one who offered a helping hand, without ever expecting anything in return.

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Related Content:

• Stories of the Savrös Empire I – The Journey of Young Arëvin: In the moments when Arëvin didn’t know where to turn, Arinûs was there. But his help would take a shape she never could have imagined.

Author: An unknown Lûvian traveler

Published in the magazine: Bärinar Wanderings

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A Lûvian traveler visits one of the oldest homesteads in Mâr Bärinar. What he discovered among the fields of apples and grain forever altered his understanding of what it truly means to have a home.

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Hûfäm niv Kämûv – Where the Apples Outscent the Wind

When I left Ost Jômil and took the northwestern path, the landscape opened up into a vastness known only to Mâr Bärinar. The light here is not harsh, but serene. The fields stretch to the horizon, and the wind plays with the grain as if guided by an unseen hand.

Nine kilometers from the settlement lies a place of which I had heard long before I even set foot in these parts. Hûfäm niv Kämûv. A farm that has stood here almost since the very first months of Ost Jômil’s existence. Founded in the same year as the settlement itself, it was named after the Kämûv Plains, which early explorers once marked as the most fertile part of this land.

At first glance, it does not appear ostentatious. The main house is spacious, well-structured, and sturdy. Surrounding it are orchards and fields, several barns and silos, and smaller dwellings for the farmhands. Everything feels orderly, functional, and devoid of needless pride. And yet, one senses something more than mere labor here.

Perhaps it is the scent.

The apples here smell different than anywhere else. The air is sweet and pure, mingled with the fine dust of grain and the crisp coolness from a nearby pond that supplies the farm with water. A stream quietly flows past, and the landscape is so open that one feels as though they can see all the way to the Kämûv nämûnän itself.

The Lärkän lineage has held this farm for generations. The locals speak of them with respect, yet without grandiosity. “Hardworking. Reliable. Good people,” a shopkeeper in Ost Jômil told me when I inquired about them. And she was right.

Nine family members reside permanently on the farm. The grandmother, a petite woman with a firm voice, remains the head of all matters. Not loudly, not harshly. Simply naturally. Her son with his family, her daughter with hers. Generations sharing not only the soil, but the very rhythm of the day.

During the harvest, up to twenty-four people move across the grounds. The fields come alive. Heavy wagons set out at dawn, small machines whir between the trees, and the aroma of food for everyone wafts from the large communal dining hall. Outside of harvest time, the pace is calmer. Four adults tend to the work, with the grandmother occasionally lending a hand. Apprentices come to learn about saplings and the careful selection of trees.

The apple trees are the pride of this place. New saplings are propagated in glasshouses, while old trees are replaced only after meticulous consideration. The timber of the felled trees possesses a peculiar grain—a blue-green core and a silvery-blue bark. It is often sold before the tree even hits the ground.

The apples make their way to the Jômil market, the local shop, other settlements, and Bärinar itself. Most frequently, however, they end up in the Jômil bakery. There, they are turned into pies that are spoken of in taverns dozens of kilometers away.

The grain from Hûfäm niv Kämûv is destined primarily for the breweries of Bärinar. Five silos stand in a row like guardians of the harvest. It is said that the malt from this grain is of extraordinary quality. I am no connoisseur of beer, but during an evening in Ost Jômil, I indulged in one. And I must admit, it possessed a fullness of flavor I had not tasted in a long time.

The farm is by no means cut off from the world. Two cargo trucks for grain, one for the daily transport of apples, multi-purpose vehicles for field work, a harvester, and a heavy plowing vehicle—everything operates with the aid of advanced Savrös technologies. Cooling systems in the barns, an automated apple-processing line, and irrigation managed more precisely than the human eye could ever estimate.

And yet, nothing here feels cold.

Every morning, I would see the grandmother using her personal vehicle to drive her grandchildren to school in Ost Jômil. On her way back, she would gather provisions and return to the fields. It is a small thing. But it is precisely those small things that hold the world together.

As I was leaving the farm, the wind rose, and the fields billowed like the sea. I realized that some places are not significant because they are grand or famous. They are significant because they preserve continuity.

Hûfäm niv Kämûv is one of those places.

It is not merely a farm. It is the living memory of the land of Mâr Bärinar.

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Author’s Notes:

• Hûfäm niv Kämûv is historically linked to the Lärkän family, who have managed it since its inception.
• The ancestral lineage of the character Arëvin Lärkän originates from this farm; her story is captured in the book series Stories of the Savrös Empire I – The Journey of Young Arëvin.
• “Nämûnän” means plains in Old Savrös.
• “Hûfäm” denotes a homestead or farm in Old Savrös.

Status (as of 834 s.l.): Graduate of elite Tâsir combat training, specialized aristocratic bodyguard / Fugitive

Affiliation: Formerly the Tâsir Court (Incognito); currently aligned with the Rasûnar Western Resistance

The origins of Lû’fän are bound to a dangerous cosmic secret. In 815 s.l., a noble Tâsir aristocratic house fled their home world, seeking asylum with the ruler of Mâr Rasûnar on Tôl Bôviras. Eager to gain technologically advanced allies, the Rasûnar ruler granted them sanctuary in deepest incognito. Beneath the surface of the province, the Tâsir constructed a secluded quarter complete with a lavish palace and a brutal slaver complex, keeping their Tâsir slaves strictly isolated from the local Lûvian population.

Born a year after this escape, Lû’fän was raised within the confines of this hidden enclave.

Appearance & Demeanor: Lethal Loveliness

At first glance, Lû’fän is the epitome of the delicate Tâsir aesthetic so highly prized by the aristocracy. She possesses exceptionally fine features, large, perceptive eyes, and an almost childlike expression of innocence that invokes a false sense of absolute security and dominance in her masters.

Beneath this fragile exterior, however, lies a body hardened by a relentless, six-year physical drill. Her movements are entirely economic, noiseless, and lightning-fast. She is incredibly agile, maintaining absolute composure in the heat of conflict, and favors short knives, concealed blades, or a garrote wire in combat.

Yet, what truly sets Lû’fän apart from her kin is her capacity for empathy. While the brutal training broke others into mindless, cruel tools of execution, Lû’fän retained an intelligent kindness. Her gentleness is not a sign of weakness, but a conscious choice born of inner strength. Combined with a sharp intellect, she is capable of anticipating an opponent’s moves long before they even manifest.

The Year 834 s.l.: Dawn of the Tempest

For Lû’fän, her sister Nû’fän—who was born on the Tâsir home world before the exile—remains the only immovable anchor in a ruthless world. While Lû’fän is entirely prepared to lay down her life to protect her sister, Nû’fän desires the exact opposite: she wants Lû’fän to finally experience true life and freedom.

The turning point arrives in 834 s.l. Upon Lû’fän completing her agonizing training, Nû’fän uses her established influence within the hidden Tâsir court to “claim” her sister for a faked assignment of personal service at the palace. Instead of entering the golden cages of the nobility, the plan is set in motion: Nû’fän orchestrates her sister’s daring escape over the outer walls, sending her directly into the safety of the Rasûnar Western Resistance. While Lû’fän successfully flees into the sanctuary of the rebels, Nû’fän herself remains behind, staying within the shadows of the court.

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From the Chronicles: Before the Walls of Näsû Rasûnar

“You look like the most fragile blossom in the princess’s gardens, little sister,” Nû’fän whispered as she watched the horizon. “But I know that within your palms slumbers a tempest that will shatter their chains.”

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Related Content

The Journey of the Tâsirian Lû’fän: Follow her footsteps directly from the shadows of the Tâsir Quarter into the unknown. A captivating short story mini-series that explores her desperate flight, the cost of freedom, and the inner tempest of a girl who refused to become a mere weapon in the hands of the aristocracy.

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She has been close to technology since her childhood. The cabin of a cargo ship was never a foreign space to her; it became the one place where she felt more secure than anywhere else. Today, she flies for the Bärinar central warehouses as well as private merchants, and her name is synonymous with precision, composure, and reliability.

Outwardly, she appears steadfast and resolute. In her personal life, however, she carefully maintains her distance. Throughout her childhood, she lacked one thing she never truly came to know: emotional closeness. She longed for it, yet feared it at the same time. Her pragmatism helped her survive, but it rarely allowed her to reveal what she truly felt.

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Related Content:

• Arëvin Lärkän – Childhood in Bärinar: A childhood spent among books, the cabin of a cargo ship, and quiet evenings shapes her into a calm, reliable young woman who gradually takes the helm of not only her own life, but her entire destiny.
• Stories of the Savrös Empire I – The Journey of Young Arëvin: Her childhood taught her independence. Now comes the moment when she must face the world as a fully self-reliant pilot. Her true journey is just beginning.