After the third trial it was quite lively around Redwyrm for a few days as clan members prepared feasts for Belany and Hector for their success in the competition. During all this, Elder Jacob and his sons stayed shuttered up in their home.
Derek continued his daily routine. With the fourth trial coming up Derek was driven to prepare as much as possible. He had gathered the supplies he would need and was now focused on training. Of course he still trained Prince Kylin and his knights on the warsword every afternoon, but this counted as training too as teaching others provided insights in his own skills.
Each evening he still took the time to listen to his mother lecture her apprentice until he fell asleep. The relaxing feeling of his mother delving his schema would help him unwind and unpack his experiences from the day. In this way another week and a half came and went.
When there was only three more days before the fourth trial more visitors came to Redwyrm. Derek was training with Prince Kylin and his two knights in the training yard when Belany and Hector came up the path. Belany smiled when she saw Derek and called out, “Derek, gather your family, we have more visitors.”
Derek and the others paused their training, “Oh really? Who is it this time? Since when has Redwyrm been this interesting in the winter?”
Belany laughed, “Haha, it’s people from your mother’s House. From the looks of it, one of them is a big shot.”
His mother’s house? He had only met some of their retainers that had come to deliver letters to his mother. He had never met any actual members from her house. He knew his mother had grown up in a powerful house and was used to wealth and finery. He was sure that all these years she had missed the family she had left behind.
He smiled at Belany, “OK, I will gather my family and head down to the clan hall. I will meet you down there.”
Belany happily waved and returned with her brother. The two had always been fond of Derek but now that he had helped them win the third trial he was like a close friend to them. They had no problem coming halfway up the mountain to deliver a message like this for him.
When Belany and Hector left he turned to Prince Kylin and his knights, “Prince Kylin, I must stop our training here. Would you like to come with us to meet my mother’s house?”
Prince Kylin looked to the older men before responding, “It would be interesting to meet the people from Windreach. If it isn’t too much hassle, we would be happy to meet them.”
Derek smiled and nodded before running to inform his mother and grandmother of the visitors. After a few minutes Eona, Alicia, and Rebekah came out to join them in the yard and they all headed down the path towards the castle together. Derek could tell that his mother was excited and couldn’t help but be excited too.
After a short while the eight of them arrived at the clan hall. When they entered they saw two groups of people in the hall. The first was Patriarch Daren, Richard, and their family. The second group, which consisted of thirty or so people, were the blue and yellow of House Windreach.
The leader was a tall man with salt and pepper hair dressed in the combat robes of a high tier mage. He carried himself with a dignity that was born of experience and his facial expression showed that he was a man accustomed to being obeyed. When he heard Derek’s group enter he turned from speaking with the Patriarch and his gaze instantly found Eona.
He looked at her quietly for a long time with a complicated expression on his face. She looked back at him and her hands started to shake while tears formed in her eyes. Derek was not used to people looking at his mother like this nor was he fond of people making her cry so he spoke up, “Sir, I don’t know why you have come here, but my mother has just recovered from a serious ailment. Please do not trouble her.”
With that he put his arm around her shoulders, which had also begun to shake, and started to pull her from the hall. He wondered to himself when it was that he had grown taller than her, but even with his size, his pull was gentle. He didn’t know who this man was but he wasn’t going to let him bully her.
Eona had been dazed when she saw the man with salt and pepper hair. She remembered him as a younger man with much less grey in his hair. It had been a long time and the last time she had seen him they had argued angrily over her decision to marry Jared Thorne. When she felt Derek gently pulling her away she said, “Derek no, this is my father, Nicholas Windreach. He is your grandfather.”
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Derek turned to look at this man again and saw that he did look like his mother. The man stood there quietly. Derek continued to hold his mother who was still on the verge of tears.
The Patriarch coughed before saying, “Baron Windreach, my people have prepared one of the guest houses for you during your stay. Derek, take them to the Soras house and let them get settled there. I will prepare a banquet for our guests, please bring them around at seven.”
Derek assented and looked to Prince Kylin. The prince waved him off before turning to head back to his guest house, "We will see you at the banquet."
Derek nodded appreciatively to him before releasing his mother and saying to Nicholas, “Grandfather, please, will you all follow us to your guest lodgings? It is not far and I can send servants to stable your horses and bring you luggage.”
The man nodded while looking at him with an appraising look. He looked at his daughter, who seemed to have recovered herself quite a bit and followed with his people to their lodgings.
It wasn’t long before they all arrived at a rather large house near the chapel. Most guests came to visit the chapel so all of the guest lodgings were near there. Derek showed them around the lodgings before some of them gathered in the main hall.
This retinue was rather large, the people that had been in the clan hall had all been the more important higher tier members. Aside from these thirty or so mages and knights there were also almost two hundred tier zero soldiers and fifty servants tasked with serving the Baron and his retinue.
The main hall was quite large. These guest houses were much larger than cottages they lived in. Nicholas was standing in the middle of the room with two of his retainers flanking him as he inspected Derek and Eona. Rebekah, Ovid and Alicia stood behind them quietly. It was quiet for a while before Nicholas stepped forward and quietly said to Eona, “Your mother and I have missed you so much.”
Eona stepped forward and embraced her father. Tears began to flow, “I know, I have missed you too. It’s been so long.”
Derek looked on helplessly as his mother wept into her father’s chest. He could only sigh because he knew how hard it had been for her and he knew that if not for him she would have been able to go home years ago. She had only stayed in this backwoods place where few people treated her decently because she had promised Jared that she would raise their child in his clan. Otherwise she could have returned to her seaside city with its wealth and array of knowledge for her to study long ago.
After a short while she stepped back from her father and said, “Father, this is my son, Derek. He recently tiered up as a Rune Smith and his final trial of his coming of age ceremony is next week.”
Nicholas looked at the boy. He smiled, “You don’t know me but I know of you. I would have known about you and your mother’s situation here but your mother was too proud to accept my help. After your coming of age you will be considered an adult by your father’s clan. At that point you are allowed to make decisions for yourself. I want to bring you and your mother home with me to Windreach. There you will not be shoved into a mountain meadow to be ignored or bullied. You will be a prized child of the House of Windreach.
“You will receive the best of educations. You will receive the best training materials. You and your mother will have retainers and servants and will be able to experience luxury that a backwater clan like this would find unfathomable.”
Derek looked from Nicholas to his mother. She was the most important person in his life and he knew the sacrifices she had made for him. Would she have had to wait almost sixteen years for the cure to her ailment if she had returned to Windreach long ago? Would she have had to suffer hunger and the cold in winter and the heat in summer if she hadn’t had to stay here with him? Would she have had to suffer the thousands of indignities she suffered while staying with the Thorne clan if she had simply returned to her powerful house? No, she wouldn’t, but she chose to stay in Redwyrm with her son because that was what was best for him.
Now he had that chance. If he returned with his mother she would have everything she had lost over the years. The only thing, he looked to his grandmother. “Grandmother…”
Rebekah smiled at him as if she had already read his mind. He thought that if he left with his mother, his grandmother would be left alone in this place. She knew this was his thought and smiled at him, “Boy, don’t overthink it. Wait until after the ceremony and then we will discuss it. Maybe we can talk it over with that old rascal of a master you have.”
He thought it over for a bit and smiled. This was really the best idea. As long as he could keep his family together he would be fine, though he did feel bad that he would be leaving his clansmen.
After a while, Derek brought his family and his grandfather’s people back to the main clan hall. Here only the Patriarch and his descendents were waiting. He had no intention of inviting controversy by getting the elders involved in this banquet. Shortly after Derek’s family and the House Windreach people arrived the Prince also arrived with his knights.
The dinner was quite lively with an excellent atmosphere. Once the Prince and his men were introduced to Baron Nicholas they got along quite well. The distance between their hegemonies was simply too great for a rivalry to develop so they naturally shared news and talked of potential trade. It helped that Prince Kylin and his father had already intended to win the friendship of Derek. Potential trade deals were simply another benefit with little cost.
As the night continued on, Derek watched his mother. He had never seen her so relaxed before. He was truly grateful that this grandfather Nicholas had come along.