Reinhardt was born in the small town of , a joke of a name coming about completely by accident. When the village was established by woodsmen and lumberjacks, it was simply named - the forest village, or the village in the woods. With the discovery of the nearby Dungeontown with the appellation reserved for a .
Obviously, was the proposed name, the heights of creativity reaching “forest town” instead of “forest village” - except there were others, as well as councillors that stuck to tradition who advocated for no name change at all. The debates were vociferous and vigorous. Somewhere along the line, between the Waldes and Waldes, was attached to a document. When the official name was voted upon (, obviously) the document with “” was supplied to the Royal Taxation Commission. The name was accepted, ratified, and the maps updated. The councilmen were suitably outraged when the official documentation arrived, but the bürgermeister - one of the few within the council with a sense of humour, had vetoed any new vote - the debate had been had, and the paperwork filed. It's just a shame that none of the massively important and intelligent councillors had thought to check the paperwork that had been sent off with the courier.
The (barely) town was not even all in one place. It was split into three areas of roughly similar sizes if not population, although each was spreading toward the others. Eventually, they would likely merge, and the population would grow enough to warrant “-” to be added to the name. The main town, with the central fountain in the stadtplatz, the church of AteusHafenseestadt. To the south-east, within a five minute wagon ride, was the informally named “Logger Town.” This was the small satellite village of a hundred or so wooden cabins that sprang up around the timber yard and lumber mill. About the same distance to the east-north-east was the quarry. The “Stonemason’s Camp” served a dual purpose - on one side of the camp, the quarry workers and stonecutters lived and worked there. On the other side, it was the furthest point before the day-long trek to the
Of course, such expansion and associated naming issues were all centuries before Reinhardt's father had decided to try his luck late one autumn night. Gustav was a lumberjack - a large, broad man that had his life determined for him when Innate. Adele, Reinhardt's mother, had her revealed as Villeton's proximity to the Schwarzwald accounted for the increased number of residents who had “forestry” and “Woodsman” themed s. They began walking the forest trails together not too long after graduating, and were married in due course. All Gustav's logging buddies came together to construct a cabin on the “town” side of the Logger’s Village - a simple space quartered into mostly equal rooms - but it was solid and well made, like everything the men of set their mind to building. It was warm in the winter, had space for a shed and a small space for Gustav to make furniture, and had a small garden and window planter boxes for Adele. Gustav and Adele moved in (officially) on their wedding night. News of Reinhardt's impending arrival was announced almost immediately thereafter.
Reinhardt was born in the usual way. Adele’s profession as well as her close relationships with the physicians and midwives in the town ensured she received better care than even the burgeoning “nobles” from “town” were provided with. Reinhardt grew like a weed. In five short years, he had grown to a sturdy little lad, living an idyllic childhood - running in the fields, swimming in the river and playing tag in the cleared areas of the Schwarzwald around the town. He barely had time, it seemed, to enjoy his spring years before he had reached ten and was enrolled to attend - the Royally-sponsored structured schooling designed to teach every childer of the kingdom all they will need to know to succeed, in preparation for their receiving the Innate. Whilst it was strongly encouraged, attendance was not mandatory. Yet, Reinhardt did not actually mind the prospect of spending his days at , as that was where all his playmates were going to be anyway, and from almost day one, they would be taught how to swing swords.
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The curriculum was split between morning classes in theory, rote learning and historical lore - where they were lectured on and expected to remember names, dates, numbers and facts regarding virtually every subject that had ever been studied - and afternoon classes of physical programs - agility drills and combat training, wilderness survival and tracking and the like. Reinhardt and his cohort were excited to learn it all - the years spent swinging appropriately shaped branches and throwing rocks while shouting the names of spells at each other had primed them for learning real magic and slashing real swords. Every boychilder in town, and not a small share of the girlchilder, wanted to be an adventurer, a delver, a diver or a climber - tracking bounties, hunting mythical beasts, tackling the various DungeonsTowersVaultsInnate.”
With that being said, a part of each week was dedicated to equipment maintenance: how to perform basic repairs on most armours, how to resole and re-tack boots and shoes, and how to patch clothing. A good number of young boys and girls actually came to be quite proficient with stitchwork, and more than a few reconsidered their stance on a career in textiles and textile repair. In addition, there were sessions that focused on the basics: reading, writing and arithmetic. There were basic introductions to Magic and the Arcane, although it was a rarity that students were able to cast spells. Once in a blue moon though, a genuinely gifted childer could master the basics and throw out a Cantrip. In major cities, these children were quickly identified by the Villeton, they were a curiosity and an oddity, and the instructor of Arcane Arts would work with them to develop this talent - but they themselves weren’t exactly the most accomplished mages in the realm, so the instruction was limited.
The main purpose of the balanced, well-rounded curriculum supplied to children between ten and seventeen was to ensure no matter what their was, they were prepared to either make the most of it, or be a viable employment option in spite of it. They would have at least a base of skills to build upon, added to and supplemented by their , instead of banking on having a marketable skill revealed with their There were just too many cases throughout history of a mother having been sure their boy would get an Innate, training him from birth to wear and move in armour. Then, when his 17th birthday rolls around, their little boy has Innate. Not that this is terrible - having a spellcaster being comfortable in armour is not the worst, nor would having a tank be able to cast spells. He could have always gotten Innate as one could get.
The other purpose was to expose the children to a number of different growth-inducing concepts, alongside a few harmful - but ultimately non-life threatening scenarios in order to (hopefully) stimulate some maturation. Learning from experience leads to a progression in Schulef?higkeit at Innate revealed, fall into their vocation, gaining all the experience they would need while contributing meaningfully to the community.
Another, often overlooked side-effect of younglings starting at the age of ten was the number of only-childs who became a big brother or sister by the time they were eleven. Turns out lack of time and privacy is a powerful contraceptive. No fewer than eight in Reinhardt’s crop were blessed with siblings in their first year, Reinhardt among them. He was doubly blessed - just before the start of term in his second year, Adele felt the need to give birth to twins. A baby boy and girl - Elke and Leopold - joined the world, much to the delight of everyone. Gustav and his colleagues expanded their home, and Reinhardt got a new room. Despite everyone being sleep deprived and wrapped up in a whirlwind of events, nobody could remember ever being happier.
