Mentor

CHAPTER 2 – III

1909

Geryman spent many of his days aging beyond his years with rogues and rakes, rascals and rapscallions, though he himself was no reprobate. He may have harbored an inner darkness, but that darkness was itself lapped with waves of empathy. He never wanted to partake in any of the various scams and shams himself. There was simply something comforting to him about being in that environment. He liked being criminal adjacent. That’s what Harry Augustina picked up on.

(Harry)
These people don’t get you
Not like I do
You’re a strange kid in a strange land
Follow me, my dear boy
And I’ll turn you into a man
Your rage is righteous
Your enemies real
And those who test us
It’s steel they’ll feel

Harry Augustina ran several legitimate businesses (foods, retail, hotels) but made equal amounts on the illegitimate (gambling, guns, drugs). It was with these latter endeavors in mind that he sought to recruit Geryman. He did not initially have any keen insights into the youngster’s psychological troubles, but he did see a moldable person with rage in his heart, and that was always a good start. That could be nurtured. And while he never fully recruited young Geryman into his brood of ruffians, he did gain an ally that would prove to be the most valuable of the many valuable things he owned.

As for Geryman’s siblings, early adulthood proved even more detrimental to their familial bonds. He was always more distant from his sister, Urissa, but this made sense as their ages were the more distant of the three. The two brothers, however, three years apart, were actually great friends, for a time. When Geryman’s dreams started haunting him it was his brother, Glendan, who seemed most sympathetic. But sympathy was not understanding. And as age turned local naivete into a global worldview – if no less naive, more self assured – their relationship, too, began to evolve. Sibling harmony turned to sibling cordiality turned to sibling rivalry.

Nudged toward trust
When really it’s lust
Ushered toward respect
Whom we should suspect