“Hey,” Adam called, setting himself beside the Demon. He placed down a cup for her, and poured her some wine.

“Hey,” Lucy replied, quietly. She accepted the cup of wine, whispering a thanks, before sipping it slowly. She looked out to the Iyrmen all around. This festival should have been her favourite. Half, and sometimes more, naked Iyrmen walking around, showing off their great physiques?

Whatever this dessert was, it wasn’t good enough. She couldn’t taste the sweetness of the festival, as it was far too sour for her taste. She had wanted to enjoy the festival, but the past month had been hard on her heart. Here she was, enjoying the heat of noonval, while her Mary rotted away.

“I’m sorry,” Adam said. “I know we’re taking a while, but…” He swallowed, noting how she had sipped the wine again at his words.

The noonval heat had never felt so cold.

“I know,” Lucy replied. “I know, Adam. I know.”

Adam sipped some more of the wine. He looked to Lanarot, who was playing with her grandfather. He sometimes felt alone, but he had people here he cared for. Lucy, on the other hand, had someone she knew from her previous life, unlike Adam, but the woman was dying. She was food for a forest, one which had Awakened the previous year.

‘I really should have…’ The thought had come to him in a moment of guilt, but he shook it away. If he had taken the heart from back then, then Mina would have still been cursed. He couldn’t trade that for Mary. If it had been a child he didn’t know, perhaps, but he couldn’t allow Mina to suffer. ‘I hope the other heart at least reduces her suffering…’

“Why do you look at the stars?” Adam asked.

Lucy looked up towards the sky again, but she shook her head. She, who always looked to the stars at night, didn’t want to admit the reason why. She, who had not yet found a familiar star, didn’t want to admit that she was trying to find the same patterns she had seen in her previous life.

“It’s a very different sky, isn’t it?” Adam said. “The stars are beautiful in this life. They were beautiful in my last life too, but this night sky has more colours, more phenomena, more… magic.”

Lucy nodded her head slowly. “Yeah.”

Adam remained by her side, sipping away at his alcohol. ‘If only there was a way to…’ A vague memory returned to him. He recalled Jurot mentioning something. ‘Could I just…’

“Good afternoon,” Morkarai said, entering the family estate. The dark skinned, red haired Giant, who was only slightly taller than the two Mithril Rank Iyrmen beside him, threw a smile towards the Iyrmen. His eyes flashed around, finding his target, though he was with another, so first greeted the other Iyrmen.

Lanarot looked up at him in shock when he appeared, and then she quickly hid against her grandfather’s chest.

‘Lanarot, please,’ Adam thought. ‘You can’t just hide away from Black people.’

Lucy’s eyes were glued to Morkarai, who was no longer wearing his platemail, but the Iyrman’s clothing, which clung to his muscled form.

Morkarai sat opposite Jarot, looking down at the little girl, who glanced back at him, before quickly hiding her face into her grandfather’s chest once more. “You are Jarot.”

“Yes,” Jarot said, shaking the Giant’s forearm. “You are Lord Morkarai.”

“How could you tell?” the Giant joked. “I hear this one is Lanarot.”

“She is,” Jarot said, understanding why the Fire Giant was here. “Lanarot, look.”

Lanarot looked up at him again, only to squirm over to her grandfather, to stand on his lap so she could hold onto him for protection.

“Lucy, you want to, you know?” Adam asked, motioning his head to the Fire Giant. “I’ll take his left, you can take his right.”

Lucy nodded her head, and she slid towards the Fire Giant, while Adam sat on his other side.

“Good afternoon,” Morkarai said, shaking their forearms.

“Good afternoon, Lord Morkarai,” Adam said, smiling at the Giant. “How are you?”

“Well, and you?”

“Not too bad, thank you,” Adam replied. “Enjoying the festival?”

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“Yes,” the Giant replied, feeling the same sensation as before. The hair on the back of his neck stood up, but only for a moment as Lucy glanced away, taken by her thoughts once more. “I am glad that I had arrived in time for the noonval festival.”

“Have you wrestled yet?”

“Not yet, but it is the first day.”

“Fair enough.” Adam cooed for his sister, who turned to look at him. She tentatively approached, and stood on Adam’s lap, but she half lay against his arm, away from the Giant. “You silly girl, it’s Lord Morkarai. He’s here to help.”

“Your sister?”

“Yes,” Adam replied. “My cute little sister.” Adam kissed the girl’s forehead, which caused her to smile, before her eyes fell to the stranger again.

“You are no Iyrman.”

“No,” Adam admitted. “I am her brother, though.”

Morkarai wasn’t sure how that worked. He looked to Jarot, who smiled, and then back to Adam. “I have never heard of such a thing previously. How did you come to the Iyr?”

“Last year I met Jurot and came with him to the Iyr.”

“You met the young man last year and became his brother so quickly?”

“It was mostly thanks to my Aunt, Lanarot’s mother, who accepted me quickly.”

“That is no easy feat.” Morkarai knew the Iyrmen well enough to know that such a thing was borderline impossible.

Adam shrugged. “It is what it is.”

“Lord Strom mentioned a story,” Morkarai said. “Is that why?”

Adam smiled. “Something like that.”

“Would you tell me the story?” Morkarai asked, wondering if he could hear the tale which had caused that old monster to favour the Half Elf.

“He offered me a reward so I…”

“What?” Morkarai asked, watching as Adam squinted his face.

“That old geezer didn’t give me my reward!” Adam snapped. “It’s been months since then and he hasn’t given me anything!”

Morkarai smiled. “If I offer you a reward, will you tell me your story?”

Adam thought about the matter, gently rubbing Lanarot’s stomach. “No. I should tell you to prepare for something, though I’m not sure if it’ll come.”

“Something which will threaten the world?” Morkarai asked.

“Yep.”

“Lord Strom mentioned something similar.”

“He told you?”

“He asked me to pass along a message.” Morkarai was only finding himself further drawn to Adam. He knew Adam was queer for a Half Elf, so did not try to seduce the young man.

“Good, good. I passed the message to the Frost Giants up north. Well, I didn’t, Entalia did.”

“Queen Silvari?” Morkarai asked, wondering why Adam didn’t use her title.

“Yeah.”

“You call her by her name?”

“Yes.”

Morkarai swallowed. First Lord Strom, and even Queen Silvari? Just what was this young man. “Those weapons that your group held…”

“Yeah?”

“Did you enchant them?”

“Whose asking?” Adam replied, narrowing his eyes.

“I am.”

Adam wondered how much he should say. He shrugged his shoulders. “They were enchanted in the Iyr.”

“I, too, am an enchanter,” Morkarai admitted. “I have come to assist the Iyr in creating weapons and enchanting them. I have the ability to form weapons with my hands, and can create a Basic enchantment once a day.”

Adam raised his brows in surprise. “Once a day? Really?”

“Yes. I have such an ability thanks to my Fire Giant blood. I can also create an item with a Basic Enhanced enchantment in three days.”

Adam whistled, before sipping his wine, catching Jarot’s eyes for a moment. “That’s quite impressive. What about a Greater enchantment, and a Greater Enhanced?” Adam asked.

“One week and two, respectively,” the Giant replied.

Adam smirked. “Nice.”

“I can forge many weapons with my bare hands in a single day,” Morkarai said, showing his thick, dark, rough hands. “It is our way.”

“Nice,” Adam whispered. “That’s really amazing. So the Iyr called you in to make weapons?”

“To assist them,” Morkarai corrected. “I am to forge weapons and enchant them, but I will also help defend the Iyr if the need arises.”

“So you can fight, eh?” Adam asked, eyeing the man up. He gathered, considering that he wore plate mail and wielded a greatsword. “How strong are you?”

Morkarai hadn’t expected such a question, but paused to think. “I could face a Great Elder in combat.”

Adam whistled. “Nice, nice. My Grandaunt, Shaool, is pretty strong.”

“The Iyrmen are truly powerful,” Morkarai said. He didn’t know what the extent of their power was, but he was certain they held at least a hundred Paragons. The Fire Giants were fewer in number than even the Iyrmen, but they were each slightly more powerful. However, even he wouldn’t want to face the Iyrmen in war.

“Where abouts are you from?” Adam asked. “Further than Aswadia?”

“The volcanoes near Shakador.”

“Is that near Hakor?”

“Shakador is south of Hakor and the Confederacy.”

“So Mexico then,” Adam said, chuckling to himself.

“Hmm?”

“Nothing,” Adam said, clearing his throat. “Just a silly joke.”

“Shakador is a collection of islands, with a great many volcanoes. The islands are shared between many folk, including Elves, the Mermen within the sea, and there are many Dwarves too.”

“Ah,” Adam said. “Mermen, Elves, and Dwarves? Are you familiar with Sansant?”

Morakarai let out a hearty laugh, unable to control it as he heard the question. “Who doesn’t know the good house of Sansant?”

“Are they from around your area?” Adam asked, rubbing Lanarot’s head as she squirmed against him, eyes wide as she saw the Giant and heard his hearty laughter.

“Yes, they are the main Elf house which rules the islands and the nearby lands,” Morkarai confirmed.

“Ah! The Iyr doesn’t seem particularly close to them, but you are?” Adam asked.

“The Iyr makes dealings with a large number of peoples,” Morkarai said, noting the looks of the nearby Iyrmen. “Usually it is one of the greatest within the region, save perhaps Aldland, in which they have a dealing with the entire Kingdom.”

“Huh,” Adam said, looking to Jarot. “I wonder how many treaties you Iyrmen have.”

Jarot smiled.

“A great number, but not enough?” Morkarai asked.

Jarot bowed his head.

Adam laughed. “Yeah, I guess that makes sense.” He looked down to see Lanarot sucking on her thumb, and she squirmed against him, trying to find a comfortable position. “I should take her to nap.”

“Nap time?” Strom asked, having floated down behind them.

“Yeah,” Adam said, excusing himself. “Look, it’s Lord Strom.”

Lanarot looked up at Strom, before smiling up at him tiredly, returning back to sucking her thumb a moment later.

Strom tickled the girl’s cheek. “Go to sleep, little Lana. I will keep young Morkarai company.”

Morkarai began to sweat, though it was not because of the noonval sun.