“What are you doing?” Jaygak asked, blinking rapidly at the Half Elf.

Adam chewed on the sweet bread which had been glazed in honey, swallowing it down before licking his lips. “Enjoying the festival.”

“You’re not going to stay at the estate and act cringe?” Jaygak joked. Her eyes caught sight of Dunes and Vonda, who were pleading with her wordlessly.

“You’re right,” Adam said. “My children need me. Why am I out here enjoying myself when they’re back at the estate missing their father.”

Jaygak blinked, keeping her eyes shut for a long while, before she opened them. Her eyes met the Priests’, apologising for her mistake, and her mind raced to find a way to stop Adam.

“Adam,” Jaygak called, inhaling deeply. “You have not played with Taygak and the children in some time.”

That was it. Adam’s weakness was not just his own children, but his Cousins too.

Adam paused, falling for her line of thought. It was a single strike within the chink of his armour, but Adam did not fall to it.

“Will you also leave Lanarot too?” Jaygak added, stabbing Adam in his heart. With Stormdrake, she could not defeat Adam, but when it came to using her devilish tongue, she could at least match him.

“Jaygak,” Adam began, before pausing. “If you think you can invoke my sister’s name and get me to do things…”

Jaygak let out a soft sigh, realising what was happening.

“Out of everyone in our group, you’re definitely the most evil,” Adam stated.

Jaygak smiled. She had won.

Adam walked around the festival, aiming to find the young children, before he bumped into a familiar face. Fred tilted his head towards the Half Elf, wondering if his appearance was fated that day.

“Adam,” Fred called.

“Fred. What’s up?”

Fred looked up to the sky and furrowed his brows. “The clouds?”

“I mean, what’s… is there something you need from me?”

Fred looked around to the Iyrmen around him, and nodded. “Could we talk? Alone.”

“Alright.” Adam led Fred away, heading to a corner of an estate, grabbing some wine and cups on the way, before settling down. He poured Fred some wine, before pouring himself some. “So…”

Fred glanced around towards the Iyrmen, each of whom were relaxing and chatting away with one another. There were many children around, talking with other children they hadn’t met in some time.

“The Iyr is such a wonderful place,” he said, wistfully. It was as though he was speaking of a dream, one which he tried to grasp, but the remnants slipped through his fingers.

“Yeah,” Adam replied, sipping the wine, tasting how sweet it was.

“I’m very thankful to you, Adam, for letting me stay here. I didn’t expect it, not in all my years. Me, the son of a simple farmer, staying in the Iyr.” Fred exhaled, shaking his head, still not quite believing it. “I heard about it when I grew up. Rock Hill was closer to the Iyr than some other towns. They came on occasion, sometimes bringing their children to wander around Rock Hill. It was a beautiful place, my Rock Hill.”

Fred’s thoughts fell to his home. “Our town was built into the hills,” he raised his brows, and smiled. “The name probably gave it away.”

Adam nodded, throwing a smile for a moment, before his face became serious once more.

“There was a merchant stall which used to come by every dawnval. The owner was a Devilkin, an Aswadian, I think, but she used to sell bracelets and necklaces. Some of them were tiny smooth stone, others were glass. A silver for the stone, two for the glass. Necklaces cost a silver more.”

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

Fred looked down at his hand, remembering the feeling of holding the bracelet, before raising his hand above his head, looking at the ghost of the bracelet. “Not much glass in the jewellery, but when you held it up to the sky, the sun, it used to shine with so much colour. She used to say there were more colours in the glass beads than there were in East Port.” He smiled at the joke, letting out a single chuckle. “I don’t know about that, but I didn’t regret buying it. I gave it to Aubrey, the…” Fred coughed, feeling his cheeks grow red.

“A lady friend?”

“She was no lady, but she was a friend,” Fred said. “She wanted to adventure. Course, her ma and pa, they didn’t want that. Wanted her to work as a milliner, making hats.”

“Was she any good?”

Fred smiled at the joke about to leave his lips. “She made the best hats.” Though his lips formed a smile, his eyes blinked away the tears. “That was another time.”

Adam slowly nodded his head, hearing how light Fred’s voice had become, almost a whisper. “I’m sorry.”

“I was lucky. I had gone first to become an adventurer, and it saved my life. I always wondered why. I, I don’t remember the reason. I think, maybe, it was because I wanted to poke fun at her. Tell her I did it first. I don’t know if it was Mother Soza who allowed me to survive, or if Lord Sozain had plans for her, and the people of Rock Hill.”

Fred’s eyes were wet, but he blinked them away, looking past Adam to another time. “I sometimes dream of Rock Hill, the one I knew when I was a wee boy. The Rock Hill where I slid down the side of Roger’s Hill. The Rock Hill where you could smell the flowers in the middle of dawnval. The Rock Hill where you could walk past a Devilkin, and know not to tease her, otherwise she wouldn’t sell you the stone and glass necklaces and bracelets for two, three, or four silver.”

Fred let out another long sigh, before looking around the Iyr. “I really do like the Iyr, but it’s no Rock Hill.”

Adam slowly nodded his head, thinking of his own home. As much as he loved it here, and as much as there was pizza on offer around the place, it was no England. “Yeah.”

“It might be better in every way, but…” Fred sighed. “I’ve come to love this place. I’m not as lucky as you, Adam. You’re a Nephew. You’ve got the Rot family, Jurot and the others. I can only dream of becoming a Nephew. For someone like me, I can’t do something like that.”

“I mean, if you want to get closer to the Iyr, you just have to get stronger,” Adam said, chuckling casually. “Kick ass, make a name for yourself, and you’ll have a few Iyrmen crawling all over you. Some of them might even be women.”

Fred sipped the rest of his wine, and placed down his cup, holding onto the base. He twisted the cup absentmindedly. “I’ve been… thinking about that. How to make the Iyr my home, the same way you make it yours. I know I’m only allowed here because of you, and Jurot. One day, that might not be true. I’m sure there’s a poetic saying for it, but now that I know the Iyr, I don’t think I want to live without it.”

“You’ve tasted the wine and now you can’t live without it,” Adam said, pouring some wine into Fred’s cup and his own.

Fred scoffed, raising his cup upwards, before bringing it to his lips. “That’s right.” He drunk it quickly, tasting the sweetness. “I don’t know what I am to you. I’m not as strong as Jonn, and he’s a Guardian, and you’ve already got an Iyrman who does what I can do, but better. Jaygak jokes she’s weak, but I’d rather not fight her, especially not with that sword of hers.”

“Lifeblade not good enough for you?” Adam asked.

Fred rubbed his thumb along the handle of the blade and shook his head. “It’s not like that. I’m very thankful for the sword, though I know it’s only borrowed to me.”

“As long as you’re one of mine, you can keep it,” Adam said. “Work for me for a few years, and you can consider it your own. I’ve already offered you a position within my business, and I’ll take good care of you.”

“You said you’d take care of my marriage,” Fred said. “Say I want to marry an Iyrman…”

“Betraying me already?”

“No,” he said, quickly. “Nothing like that. I just… I just thought it would be nicer if I was married into the Iyr, is all. I’d work for you still, you’ve done a lot for me. You helped me when I was dying, you and Sir Vonda, and I owe a lot to you.” He gripped Lifeblade tighter. “Never thought that I would carry a magical sword at my side, especially not a Basic Enhanced sword. Not me, just a farmer’s boy that I was.”

Adam smiled. “Well, you’re pretty successful for a farmer’s boy, Fred. You didn’t have much chance to spend all that money, eh? You could probably buy your own farm now.”

“Aye,” Fred said. “I could, but…” The young man sighed. “Like I said, I don’t know what I am to you.”

“Why are you acting all shy?” Adam asked. “Have you forgotten?”

“Forgotten what?”

“When Lucy was in danger, I asked you whether you wanted to step aside,” Adam said, holding Fred’s gaze with his eyes. “When it came down to it, when your life was on the line, when my friend’s life was on the line, you drew your blade and fought beside me, Fred. You, the son of a farmer, decided to die for some Demon.”

Fred wasn’t sure how to feel about risking his life for a Demon, but Lucy didn’t do any wrong to him. “Yeah…”

“I didn’t give you a magical sword because it was going to help you, I gave you the sword because you earned the right to wield that blade.”

Fred slowly nodded his head.

Adam poured the young man some more wine. “Stick with me, Fred. I’ll raise you into a monster, and then you can drown in Iyrmen.”

“Thank you, Adam,” Fred said, sipping his wine. He sighed with relief, feeling his heart lighten. ‘Thank you.’