Beyond Chaos – A DiceRPG

[1159] – Y06.059 – Dawnval Festival II

“Karot, make sure you drink it all up,” Mulrot said, the old woman pouring her greatson a drink. 

“Thank you, nano,” Karot replied, sipping away at his milk, a white foam bubbling atop his lips. He licked it away, distracted by a piece of bread his aunt brought to his lips, which the boy chewed without a second thought. 

“Bread is always delicious,” Lanarot stated, her tone very much like her teacher’s, as though imparting upon her nephew a wisdom which came through being almost a whole year older.

“Yes,” Karot replied as he chewed his bread, the boy opening his mouth as his elder sister brought up a slice of fruit to his lips. He enjoyed the attention from all his elders, the boy’s heart full of warmth from them spoiling him. He picked up a piece of fruit for his elder sisters, feeding Kirot, Konarot, and even his aunt.

“What a good little nephew I have!” Lanarot reached up to brush his hair, gasping, before trying to fix it with her hands, accidentally getting bits of food within it. She paused, her eyes darting towards her elder sister as she began to pout, her lower lip quivering. 

“Let us clean up,” Vonda said, stopping the girl from crying, taking Lanarot and Karot away to fix them up. 

“I told him! I told him! He is such a good nephew and I brushed his hair because! Because he is a good nephew!” Lanarot cried out, trying to defend herself. 

“I know, Lana. You did not think of the crumbs on your hand.”

“I am sorry, sister! Sorry!”

“I know, Lana.” Vonda brushed along the girl’s cheek. “Let us wash our hands and our hair quickly and return to our bread.”

“Okay!” Lanarot flushed slightly, but she smiled shyly at the Ray. “You are my favourite sister!”

“What of Pam?”

“She is my favourite sister!”

“What of Adam?”

“He is my favourite brother!”

“What of Jurot?”

“He is my favourite brother!”

“What of Tanagek?”

“He is my cousin. I like cousin Tanagek, and I like cousin Chosen, they tell me their stories. Sister, will my stories be so good too? I am too little to fight dragons, but one day I will be big, will I fight dragons too?”

“If you wish to fight dragons, you may fight dragons, but you must work hard.”

“Mummy, I can fight dragons too?” Karot asked, his silver eyes so sweet as they gazed up towards his mother.

“You will need to work hard too, my karot.”

Karot nodded. “I am going to school today?”

“Not today, my dear.” Vonda brushed the boy’s cheek, who was still so sweet and innocent. “Once the festival is over, you will return to schooling. It is time to enjoy yourself with your friends and family.”

“It is Luminescence?” Karot asked.

“Bloom,” Vonda said, drying her son’s hair, leaning down to plant a gentle kiss on his forehead. “Luminescence is in the middle of noonval. Bloom is the last day of dawnval.”

“We are going to pray?”

“Do you wish to?” 

“Yes.”

“We will. Shall we plant a flower too?”

“Yes!” The boy’s tail swung behind him, his eyes beaming up, quickly closing as his mother smothered him, the pair embracing tight and sharing their warmth. Though the boy disliked the heat, the warmth of his mother’s affection was better than even laying in snow. 

“I want to plant a flower too!” Lanarot called out, and she, too, was quickly swallowed up by her sister’s adoration. 

“We can plant a flower together,” Vonda promised, the trio all hugging tight, before finally returning back to the extended family estate. 

Little Karot rushed up beside his siblings, who were almost finished with their meals. As though he hadn’t just left, Konarot and Kirot turned their attention upon their younger brother once more, feeding him again.

“Kako! You are okay?” Jirot asked, her head turned away towards her aunt, while her body faced her grandmother, causing some of the nearby Iyrmen to smile at her prying into the situation. 

“I am okay,” Lanarot replied, holding up a thumbs up for her niece, who returned a thumbs up, accidentally flinging porridge back into her bowl. 

Jirot gasped, letting out more than just a gasped, and her eyes darted towards her smiling grandmother. “I did not poopoo! I did not!”

As the night sky began to expand over the Iyr, the older Iyrmen within the extended estate tensed up, before they relaxed, some of their gazes remaining upon the figure. 

“Hello, hello! Having fun without me, are you?” Adam called, the half elf flashing a smile, though his face strained with discomfort. He hoisted his triplets up, who had waited for their father to appear before they tackled him, while Jirot and Jarot remained upon their babo’s lap.

Adam greeted the Rot family, adored his children, and planted a kiss on four sleepy babies before allowing them to head to bed. Once he was done with his greetings, the half elf settled himself beside the guests of the Rot family who spent most of their time at the estate, since he had at least that much duty to them. 

“You been working hard?” Adam asked, pouring Kiara a drink, the silver haired woman nodding her head lightly in response. “What? Cat got your tongue?”

Kiara tilted her head slightly in response. “I’m just… tired.”

Adam slowly bowed his head, furrowing his brows in thought, staring down at the drink he poured in for the silver haired Kiara. ‘Oh, right, she’s not a young kid, she’s a grown adult.’ “How’s the Rot family treating you?”

“Well.”

“Found a nice guy, or gal, to marry?”

“No,” Kiara replied, flushing red from the alcohol and the awkwardness of the topic. 

Adam, seeing the woman’s eyes, slowly pulled back. “Hey, you know. No rush, if you want that for yourself. If you don’t, no pressure, and if anyone does try to pressure you, you can tell me or my grandfather, and we’ll take care of it, alright?”

Kiara’s brows furrowed further in confusion. “Your grandfather?”

“Jarot, the Mad Dog.”

Kiara’s eyes remained focused upon Adam’s, the question within her eyes evident, though she did not ask of it. From what she gathered, the Adam that she knew did not call the old man his grandfather. ‘Is he… okay?’

“And you, Filliam? Found yourself a nice guy or gal.”

“I do not know what you are trying to accuse me of, Adam, but I do not have time for such,” the young man replied, adjusting his spectacles, which were small, two round glasses with a triangular bridge connecting them. 

“What do you mean accuse you of? That’s the kind of question you should expect from a leaf ear like me.”

Filliam flushed red, his eyes growing wide from Adam’s blatant cursing. “I do not wish to speak of these topics, if you would not mind.”

“Well, what we can speak of is how healthy you’re looking! You’ve filled up, got yourself a tan. You’re positively glowing!”

“I must admit your advice has been rather impactful…” Filliam adjusted his glasses again, unsure if he should broach the topic. 

“You got enough money for your experiments?”

“The Iyr provides, as long as I pay the due taxes.”

“They got you paying taxes?” 

“One in five watches.”

“Oh. Not gold or anything?”

“No, no. A fair price, since they watch over me, allow me to experiment, feed me, clothe me, shelter me, and with the appearance of the Reavers, protect me.”

“Yeah, these Reavers, did you know about them?”

“I thought they were tales to be told to children when they did not listen,” Filliam admitted, the young tinkerer slowly leaning downwards, making himself appear smaller, and all his thoughts about asking if he could join their journey to Aswadasad slipped away. “To hear that such beings are real, and that the lands have united to form a defence against them…”

“Yeah.”

“You’re still planning to go eastward?”

“Yeah. Dunes, we uh, we got to speak with his mentor, his Grand Commander…” Adam paused, recalling they were two different people. ‘Eh, well, we still have to speak to both of them, so that’s fine.’ “He’s joined us, but you know hot it is. Politics.”

“It is more than just politics. Many are worried for Dunes, and rightly so. Dunes joined your business without cleanly cutting off his Order, and…” Filliam fell quiet for a moment, feeling his throat dry up like the Red Desert. "He surely has sworn his Oaths, which bind him to his Order. It is a surprise they have not sent someone here to retrieve him already.”

“Yeah, well…” Adam smiled, causing Filliam to adjust his glasses once more. “Filliam? How long have you known me for now?”

“Almost six years.”

“That’s right, almost…” Adam paused, trying to calculate within his mind. “Almost six years? Really?”

“Yes.”

“I met you when I first came to this land?”

“Yes.”

“Damn, what the…” Adam crossed his arms, leaning back in thought. ‘I’ve known him for that long?’ “Oh. Then I don’t really need to explain to you that I’ll just create another miracle?”

“You should take it seriously.”

“I am.”

“A few magical weapons won’t smooth things over so simply.”

“A few magical weapons won’t, but it’ll help, as well as all the piles of gold and silver I’ll drown them in, and if push comes to shove, I’ll just ask Lady Arya for her help.”

“You are a Priest of Baktu, and if we are to be polite, Lord Sozain. Lady Arya may be one of the Major Divine, but that doesn’t mean she will hear your prayers due to it. If you were perhaps one of her own, then you may be worthy of her attention, especially considering your great might.”

“If I’m not worthy of her because I don’t pray to her or because I was too weak, then she-,”

“Adam!” Filliam quickly called out, his heart pounding wildly within his chest, feeling the heat fill through him, followed swiftly by the chill of shock.

Adam shrugged his shoulders, throwing a look to Kiara, winking at her, the woman’s eyes darting to meet Filliam’s. Though she was not of this world, she understood that the Divine were not to be trifled with. 

“I feel like we’re missing someone,” Adam said, glancing across from himself. “Since Prince Morkarai has left, then that means… Tariel?”

See! I do remember them! I had more planned with them originally but everything was awkward for them because of... you know what.