Omen: 17, 18

Adam held Jirot to his chest, his hand against the back of her head, keeping her close to him. Her tiny breath tickled against his skin with each passing moment. Jarot was holding baby Jarot to himself, wishing he had a second hand to brush the boy’s hair and to tickle him.

“They should eat,” Sonarot said, holding out her hands to take the babe away from the pair.

Jarot vibrated with disappointment, but he relinquished the boy to his grandmother. Adam continued to hold Jirot, letting her relax against his chest, until she was taken away to be fed a short while later.

“What are you thinking?” the old Iyrman asked, noting the look on Adam’s face.

“It’s dangerous, isn’t it?”

“What is?”

“My children are too cute.”

‘Cringe,’ Jurot thought.

“It is,” Jarot admitted.

Jurot paused for a moment to think. ‘Is it not cringe?’

Konarot reached up to hold Adam’s hand, climbing up onto his lap. Her younger siblings sat beside him, cuddling up beside their father, holding onto his arms.

‘Dangerous,’ Adam thought.

The festival was still in full swing, with even greater bouts being held, though Adam remained far away from them. He held his children’s hands, while Konarot wrapped herself around him, forcing him to piggyback her about. Eventually, however, the children whimpered and climbed up around his front, forcing him to carry them too.

‘Is he wearing children now?’ Morkarai thought, biting into the meat wrap he had been forced to take by the Iyrman. It cooled his mouth with the spice, which revealed to him that even the Iyrmen who were not Devilkin liked the fiery spice he was accustomed to.

“Oh, good morning, Lord Morkarai,” Adam said, looking up to the Giant who was only half a head taller than him.

“Good morning, Adam,” Morkarai responded. He had wanted to check for the Emperor, but something else had completely overwhelmed his mind. The children Adam was wearing around himself were Half Dragons, but most importantly, their scales were silver.

Morkarai wasn’t sure if they were blood related, considering the boy had also adopted Goblins, but considering how they clung to Adam, it was no doubt they were close at the very least. However, the only Silver Dragon which had appeared, was Entalia, someone who had claimed Adam to be her own.

‘Is that what she meant?’

Adam smiled at the Giant. “Lord Morkarai, one day you will have cute children like mine. You shouldn’t feel too jealous about it.”

“Yes,” Morkarai replied, still thinking about the relationship between Adam and Entalia. Things didn’t make sense with Adam, which is why this made perfect sense.

“Are you enjoying the festival?”

“I am,” Morkarai said, trying to force away his thoughts. “The Iyr’s festivals are truly unique.”

“Yeah,” Adam replied, looking around. “I’ve never seen a festival on this scale which moves without the grease of gold.”

“There is a saying in our homeland,” Morkarai said, glancing around to the Iyrmen around them, each of whom left the pair be. “The Iyr moves not for gold, but for blood.”

Adam noted the look of pride on the young Iyrmen about, before smiling. “Well, that’s certainly an apt description. Hopefully there was no blood within the making of food.”

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“I do not wish to reveal to you how this meat was made, for I do not wish to take away your innocence,” Morkarai joked.

Adam chuckled. “You know, Lord Morkarai, you ain’t so bad.”

Morkarai bowed his head. “It is an honour to hear such a thing.”

“Would you like to join me in exploring the festival?” Adam asked.

“It would be my honour.”

“Don’t say that, my heart can’t take it,” Adam said, guiding Morkarai through the Iyr. There were many Iyrmen all about, talking with one another, eating and drinking their fill. Adam wondered how many Iyrmen were still working, and how many Iyrmen were taking the day off. He thought about his Aunts, who had so far enjoyed three days of the festival, though he wasn’t sure if they had spent time working recently, nor if they were enjoying the festival today.

‘Shouldn’t I get close to his children?’ Morkarai thought. ‘Emperor Hadda mentioned the girl, but his children also make sense.’

Konarot bit into her food, before rubbing it against her father’s mouth. Adam accepted her food, preferring it to be in his mouth rather than around it. He wanted to reach up to pat her head, but his hands were busy holding his other children.

‘There are girl dads and then there are Dragon dads,’ Adam thought. ‘You’re so clingy. Damn it! Why did you have to be so cute?’

“What are their names?” Morkarai asked.

“Ah, Adam said, realising he had been rude to the Prince. “The cute one on my back is Konarot, the cute one to my right is Kirot, and the cute one to my left is Karot.”

‘They are named after the Rot family?’ Morkarai thought. ‘No, that does make sense. He is that close to them, and they would want to accept the Half Dragons into their family to claim them, and their father.’ “What wonderful names. What of the twins?”

“Jirot and Jarot,” Adam said. “Jurot named them.”

“How fortunate,” Morkarai said. “Since they have been accepted by the Iyr, they will be raised well.”

“They haven’t been accepted by the Iyr,” Adam said. “Well, not to be raised within the Iyr, anyway.”

“What do you mean?”

“They weren’t accepted into the Iyr,” Adam stated. “They’ve been denied by the Rot family.”

Morkarai remained silent, deep in thought about Adam’s words. ‘Impossible. Even if I do not know how the Iyr works, such a thing would be impossible.’ “Did you refuse them?”

“No,” Adam said. “If they had been accepted by the Rot family, I would have been happy, but that was wishful thinking.”

“To hear that they didn’t accept Half Dragons, it is a surprise. I am certain they had their own reasons for doing so.”

“No, no. They accepted the Half Dragons just fine. It was my cute little Goblin children they didn’t want to accept.”

“So three of your five children?” Morkarai remained silent. He was sure Adam said they had been denied, but his words had changed.

“Right. Three of my five children.”

“It is a good fortune for your Half Dragon children,” Morkarai said. “They will be raised well, and no doubt they will become powerful with the Iyr’s guidance.”

“Don’t get me wrong, Lord Morkarai, but I’m using the terms Half Dragon and Goblins to make it easier for you to understand. They’re not my Half Dragon children and my Goblin children, they are my children.” Adam held his children closer to himself. There was a cold feeling deep within his gut.

“I thought that the Iyr and I were similar in that sense, but it appears to be the case that I’m wrong. The Iyr doesn’t make distinctions between Orcs, Devilkin, and Humans, but they do make distinctions between Goblins and Half Dragons.”

Morkarai could hear it within Adam’s voice, the sadness. It was not a normal sadness, but the sadness of betrayal. In the same way many had become disillusioned with Adam, Adam had become disillusioned with the Iyr. The Adam they knew, and the Iyr he knew, were a fantasy.

“You’re right, though,” Adam said. “If they were raised within the Iyr, with the Iyr’s guidance, they’d become powerful. Still, until that day comes, I need to become more powerful. I’m not really sure what to do, well, I do know what to do, but…” Adam sighed.

“It takes years to become more powerful,” Morkarai said. “Even I was not as powerful as I am now but a decade ago. Like a blade which needs tempering, you cannot smith too quickly.”

“I don’t want to hear that from a guy who can enchant a blade in a single day,” Adam replied, smirking at the Giant.

“That is different, for that is magic,” Morkarai replied, simply. “If you have magic which assists you in growing more powerful, then hammering your body through effort makes less sense. However, it is still good to work hard to grow more powerful.”

“Do you have any tips?”

Morkarai remained silent for a long while. Adam kept doing that, making the Giant go silent to think. The Giant narrowed his eyes, looking around himself. He was certain he was in the Iyr. The Iyr, known by many to be the place full of great warriors. There were very few places which held such reverence, and there were even fewer which could hold the might of the Iyr, and even fewer which held that level of might for millennia.

Yet, Adam was asking him for advice on how to grow more powerful?

It was like asking an Aldishman how to forge well while in the home of Dwarves. Yes, some Aldishmen were great at forging, for there were those in Jaghi whose smithing ability caught the attention of even the Giants to the north and to the south. However, one would still ask the Dwarves, wouldn’t they?

“I do not know what to say to advise you, for the Iyr would surely know you better than I, but if you wish to fight, perhaps you could learn something?” Morkarai asked, smiling at the Half Elf with the most innocent smile.

‘A fight?’