Fishing, the Old Gladean Art

"**Fishing, the Old Gladean Art**" is a tale in *The Demon's Light*, taking place between "One Night in Gladea" and "Ceasefire." It features Wen Li and his father, Shen, on a fishing trip.

## Narrative

The rising sun lined the skies of Gladea with an orange haze that matched the color of the life vests the two men were wearing. A slight overcast meant good for fishing.

"How far is this creek?" Wen asked his father.

"Not a creek, Wen. It's the same lake our cabin is on, but just a different part of it. It's a little up ahead. Half a mile or maybe a mile," Shen stated.

As the two trudged through the forested wetland, the oasis of a fishing spot they were headed for shone through the trees a bit.

"Reminds me of the time when we were at my farm and one of the badgers, my favorite, Brock — you remember this? — got loose and you and I trudged through the mud to find him," Shen began.

"I don't think I do," Wen stated.

"Yeah, you do. It must have been an hour before we found him, scared as ice is cold, up on the roof of the badger trough."

"I remember now," Wen laughed. "This must've been fifteen years ago."

"You got up on a ladder and had to pry him down," Shen chuckled as the pair reached the clearing. "A little down there, to the left."

They approached a small shack next to a small dock with their fishing boat moored to it.

"Yes, right here. I took the liberty of rowing the dinghy over here last night," Shen told his son.

"All by yourself?" Wen giggled.

"I suppose I was a little eager to scope out today's fishing spot. Come on, hand me the tacklebox," Shen asked Wen as he stepped down into the boat.

"Sure, Pa."

Wen unmoored the boat and rowed it farther into the lake. The boat sent ripples through the calm body of water.

"Out here is where all the good fish are," Shen said, rubbing his hands together. "Let's hope for good luck today."

"Stupid fish, too. Let's hope."

A little time passed while the duo did their own thing, preparing their rods, their reels, their bait, and whatever else they had on hand. Then the two threw their lines into the lake and began fishing.

"Keep the lure moving so that it looks like a fish wiggling in the water, Wen," Shen instructed.

"I know how to fish, Pa," Wen groaned.

Some more time had passed before the two spoke again. Each man was in their own little world.

"Did you hear about those kids ran off the road by an Alchemilia trucker?" Wen treaded carefully.

"Thought they were thieves," Shen grunted, still focused on his bobber.

"*Really?* I didn't hear abo—"

"Something on your line," Shen alerted his son, whose line was retreating wildly.

"Big fish," Wen said, as his line steered left and right.

"Tire it out, reel it in when it is tired, son," Shen advised.

"I know, Pa, I know!" he shouted.

"I am just reminding you, son. It's just a fish. There's plenty of others in this lake. I like to fish, you like to fish — no disagreement there, yeah? Your wife Yu suggested we just spend some nice time together, so please relax and have fun."

He patted his son on the back and pointed at the fish.

"See? It's getting tired. Reel it in now!"

"Okay, okay!"

Wen reeled the line furiously, seeing his chance and taking it. However, the fish started to fight back with all its might. It was an all-out war between the man and the fish, and ended with the man being dragged out of the dinghy and into the lake.

"You stupid rat bastard!" the drenched Wen screamed at the fish, who had stolen his rod and its fixings — and had gotten away. "Could you, uh, row yourself over to me?"

The older man made his way to his son and helped him into the boat.

"Agh!" Wen said, disgruntled. "I need to catch that fish."

"Take it easy, Wen. It's just a fish. We can come back another day and there will still be fish left to catch," Shen said calmly.

"It stole my rod! I cannot fish without my rod. I must catch that fish. I need to catch it."

"We can try again later," Shen said as he readjusted Wen's sopping wet bucket hat. "We should go back to the cabin. I'll tell you a story of my youth, perhaps."

"I will catch that fish," Wen muttered.