Omen: 2, 16

Elder Lykan had called for Adam in the morning. He held out a ring to Adam, which contained the heart of a Dragon, one which would have satisfied Big Ivory’s conditions. If it didn’t satisfy him, then the Iyr would have had to speak politely with the Guardian of the Awakened Forest.

“Thank you,” Adam said, quickly donning the ring on his ring finger, as though he were married to the heart.

Elder Lykan raised his brow towards Adam, who hadn’t checked. Adam smiled, nodding his head towards the handsome Front Iyr Elder, leaving the business at that. Adam had no need to check, for they were Iyrmen.

“Adam,” called an older Orcish Iyrman from nearby. He wore the clothes of the Iyr, with wraps all the way up to his forearms. At his forehead was a tattoo of a red cross, with yellow hollowed ovals to its sides. At his back was a spear, which was made of a blue steel, with runes which glittered in the morning sun.

“Okvar?” Adam replied, reaching up to shake the Iyrman’s forearm. “Are you one of the two Iyrmen?”

“I am.” Okvar smiled. He hadn’t seen Adam in some time, but he was one of the few Iyrmen who had gone out with Adam before he had made a name for himself. “You should come and speak the tale once more.”

“Well,” Adam replied, awkwardly. “I’m not so good with the stories, you know that.”

The Orcish Iyrman smiled. “Are we to slay another Dragon?”

“Not this time. In fact, I hope we don’t come across any Dragons, since I have some business to attend to.”

“You still wish to keep it a secret?”

Adam winked. “You should know the kind of queer Half Elf I am.”

“I do.” Okvar laughed.

“If you’re here, does that mean Wujyn is coming with us too?”

“No, she is busy.” Okvar held in his smile. “However, there is a Guardian who was eager to join.”

“Are they Mithril Rank like you?” Adam asked.

Okvar winked.

“You are Adam?” the woman asked, reaching out to shake Adam’s forearm. Adam thought her face was cute, but she was also tall and wide like an auroch. Adam swore she was related to Nobby some how, considering how huge she was. She was slightly wider than Adam in her plate mail, and carried at her side a morningstar. On her back was a shield, which covered her pack.

“Yes,” Adam replied, meekly.

“Rasam,” the woman said. “I have heard you are a great warrior, an Expert with both magic and blade.”

Adam wasn’t liking where this conversation was heading. “Something like that.”

“Once we step into the Awakened Forest, would you face me in combat?” Rasam asked. “I would like to see how strong you are.”

“Maybe, but I’m not making any promises. I already had to give up a magical weapon, and I’m rather afraid of you Iyrmen.”

Rasam threw Okvar a look, who replied with a smile. “You are as meek as they say.” She had joined up on this request because she thought there would be great glory to be had.

“Being meek is the point this time. I’ve got a task to complete, so I don’t want any trouble until I can finish up with my mischief.”

“Mischief?” Rasam asked. That was not what she would have called this task, but she allowed Adam his peace.

The Half Elf before them smiled innocently.

Once they met with the group, Kitool noted the woman, and approached her. “I am Kitool.”

“Shaool’s grandniece?” Rasam asked, before shaking the woman’s forearm. “I see that you are doing well and have brought glory to your family.”

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Kitool bowed her head. “I am only fortunate.”

Rasam looked to Adam, before smiling back to Kitool. “It is no matter. You will do well, and bring much more glory.” She part Kitool’s shoulder as gently as she could manage.

Nobby stared at the woman, his eyes twinkling slightly, wondering if he and Rasam were somehow related.

“Jurot?” Adam called.

“Yes?”

Adam motioned his head to Rasam and Nobby, before raising his brows.

Jurot remained silent for a long while. “What?”

“Are they related?” Adam finally asked.

Jurot glanced between the pair quickly, before looking to Adam, his eyebrows shifting almost imperceptibly. “No,” Jurot replied, with the slightest hint of shock. He had no idea how anyone could possibly think the pair could be related since they looked nothing alike.

“We will be joining you on the way to the Front Iyr,” Okvar informed, but he said no more.

The Iyrmen within the group didn’t question it, since there were a multitude of reasons as to why there would be a pair of Mithril Rank Iyrmen coming with them.

“Hey, is Rasam famous?” Adam asked, whispering to Kitool.

“She is like grandaunt,” Kitool said. “She is young, and already Mithril Rank, and she will give up her freedom to become one of the Iyr’s greatest.”

“Do you know all those like her? Those willing to give up their rights to become the strongest?”

“There is a choice to be made to retire at Mithril Rank, or to make it known to the entire Iyr that you are to give up your freedoms to become one of the Iyr’s greatest,” Kitool said. “Some do not.”

Adam wondered if she meant making the choice to become one of the greatest, or to make it known, but he wasn’t sure if he wanted to know. He looked at Rasam, realising she did appear to be much younger than Okvar, though apparently they held the same rank.

They made their way out of the Front Iyr quickly, Adam eager to leave. Watching them from afar were the two Lords, each of whom were drinking.

“Why did you want to watch him go?” the Dwarf asked.

“It may be the last time we meet,” Strom replied, sipping from his cup of wine.

“You asked him to return for you.”

“I asked him to return, but that doesn’t mean I’ll be there for him. It doesn’t matter, since my message will be passed on. It’s a shame I won’t be able to look at his face once he finds out I’ve died. Well, I’ll also be taking his precious sister out of the Iyr first too.”

The Dwarf sighed. “I hope he doesn’t return, or that Demon girl.”

“You should hope that he returns at least,” Strom said, finishing the bottle of wine, tossing it aside. “I’ve bet too much on him for him to die.”

The Dwarf eyed him suspiciously. Out of all the Lords she knew, the Lord of Storms was one of the most erratic. He had calmed since his youth, but that was during a time she would beat him into submission every time. Her eyes fell across the group who had left and wondered what Strom viewed of them for him to be so incessant on their worth.

‘Should I kill them?’

The Awakened Wolf returned back to the Front Iyr, panting excitedly.

‘Is that a sign?’

It was early in the evening when the group approached the village, with a freshly summoned elk and owl also in tow. Merl, the Chief, greeted the group quickly, and invited them inside.

“Are you an Expert yet?” Merl asked Nobby, who was slowly sipping his soup.

“No,” the boy replied.

“How can you make me wait this long?”

Adam cleared his throat. “It’s alright. Chances are, Nobby will be an Expert in the next year or two at most.”

“A year or two?” Merl asked. She had been joking about Nobby being an Expert so soon, considering he wasn’t even eighteen. However, she had originally seen both Adam and Jurot as young kids at the beginning of the last year, and they had returned during dawnval of this year as Experts. “I can wait that long.”

Merl, the granddaughter, wondered what they were talking about. How her grandmother could fall for something so ridiculous was beyond her, and she looked to Jurot for help.

“We should aim to make him an Expert before we return,” Jurot said.

Young Merl wondered how many years that would take. From what she knew, the average Expert was close to their thirties, and would retire at that age so they didn’t meet an untimely death. Of course, there were many great prodigies who became Experts by the time they were in their mid twenties, and then there were Iyrmen, a handful of whom would become Experts before they turned twenty, but they were groomed from young for such a task.

“At the end of this year?” Adam asked.

“At the end of this year or the next,” Jurot said.

Young Merl’s eyes fell to Jurot’s once more, wondering what he was saying. Had it been another individual, she would have assumed they were a charlatan, but the nearby villages all knew that Iyrmen told the truth. They would always come when they said they would, and would always assist the villages whenever they came through.

‘Can they really…’

Chief Merl refused the gold coins, though Adam tried to hand them over. “We cannot take them from you, not after all you’ve done.” Merl had noted the presence of the two older Iyrmen, as well as all the young Iyrmen, so assumed they were off to train during this year. She would not take their gold from them, not when it was such an important time for these youth.

“Return with the handsome young man as an Expert and you will not have to pay the fee for some time,” the Chief whispered.

“At least take a single gold coin, so that my heart feels at ease, Chief.”

She grumbled quietly, but accepted the gold coin. “I will only do it out of gratitude.”

Adam remained quiet for some time. “Gratitude? I’m the one trying to pay you for your hospitality!”

The villages on the way to Red Oak were similar, refusing the gold coins, though Adam managed to hand them one gold coin. The Chiefs had all noted the same thing, and it was not good fortune to take their gold as they passed by. When young Iyrmen passed by the village to train, the villages would often do their best to put them up, since they would return in the future to assist them. There were some Iyrmen who would return year round to assist during the Beast Wave and Undead threats.

‘Is it because I’m an Elf?’ Adam thought, only to recall how eager they had been to take his gold previously.