Omen: 8, 20

Adam awoke in the morning, looking to his side. 

His finger was currently surrendered to a tiny baby, who clutched it tight in hand, refusing to let it go.

‘Uh oh,’ Adam thought. ‘I’m trapped.’

He turned to look at Jurot, who caught Adam’s look.

‘Jurot, help me.’

Jurot nodded his head, understanding the thoughts behind those eyes.

‘I slept well, did you?’

‘Jurot, what are you doing? Help me.’

‘A bad night? That is a shame?’

‘No, don’t abandon me. Jurot!’

Adam turned to Sonarot, who noted his issue.

‘Help me, Aunt.’

Sonarot smiled, nodding her head, understanding what he needed. For a moment, a thought passed through her mind, whether she should truly allow him free, since he always worked so hard and now he was trapped to relax next to his sister. 

However, since Adam had spent hours yesterday playing with Lanarot, from crawling around with her, to playing with her blocks, or playing with the knitted blankets she had made, hiding away from her and constantly revealing himself.

What was it that he had said?

Pikabu?

She dropped down beside Lanarot and slowly rubbed her finger behind the girl’s hand, causing her to twitch and let go of Adam’s finger, which he quickly pulled back. 

‘Phew.’ 

Adam nodded towards Sonarot, thanking her for her assistance.

He spent the morning training, though he continued to refuse sparring.

“I’ll be enchanting later today. I’m feeling especially lucky today.” Adam grinned wide, noting that he had guaranteed such an amazing enchanting session that day. 

Kitool had also begun to train Brittany in using a staff and bow, though she didn’t seem to be that great with the staff, as the staff slipped out of her hands more than once.

Once they had bathed, and ate the food Jogak had made, which was still ridiculously spicy, Adam and the others spent the next couple of hours together, just talking to one another.

When noon finally came, Adam went to enchant the sword he had been working on.

Mana: 10 -> 8
Enchanting
D20 + 7 = 10 (3)
Omen: 8, 20 -> 8
20 + 7 = 27

The snow around fell. The man in white stared across it, seeing across the land. His eyes were a mixture of blue and purple, his eyes almost starry. 

As his eyes passed along the horizon, he missed the lone stranger, the very same stranger he had been tasked to find, who slipped past his gaze and infiltrated the town. 

Adam wiped his brow, staring down at the sword, which was already humming with great power. “Two 20’s so far…” He wondered if he could enchanting the blade perfectly. ‘Let’s hope.’

“How did the enchanting go?” Dunes asked.

“It went pretty well, though I had to bend Fate to make sure it went well.”

“Is Fate so easy to bend to your whim?” 

Adam smiled. “No. You better pray that it goes this well when I enchant your sword too, but that’s to the whims of Fate too.”

Dunes nodded. “Then let us hope that Fate is on your side.”

“You must be careful, Adam,” Sonarot said. “If you continue to enchant as recklessly has you have done previously…”

“I’ll try, but I’m making no promises,” Adam replied, smiling at her.

Sonarot brushed his hair, shaking her head. “If you are ill, Lanarot will miss you.”

Adam narrowed his eyes at her. 

After their evening meal, Adam played with his little sister, helping her stack blocks, before finally reading to her in the night with her on his lap. She would pat the book every so often, feeling the paper against her skin, and babble as he read the story to her. 

Eventually she leaned back against him, rubbing her eyes and yawning, her arms out stretching.

“Are you tired? Do you want to sleep?”

Lanarot babbled affirmatively, yawning again. 

Adam placed her down onto the blanket and she reached up for his finger. Adam, recalling what happened earlier in the day, hesitated. However, when he saw those eyes peering up at him, he sighed and handed her his finger. 

“Why are you so cute?” Adam sighed. “You bad girl.”

Adam lay down beside her, and she stared at him for a few moments, before her sleepy eyes closed shut. 

‘What a bad little sister I have,’ Adam thought, before smiling. 

Jurot watched, his heart still pounding in his chest. ‘Why does he sleep beside her? It is uncomfortable.’ Jurot couldn’t understand. He closed his eyes, removing those thoughts. However, something continued to eat at his heart.

Sonarot stared at the three of them. 

With Lanarot here, the house was the most cramped it had ever been. Of course, Jurot and Adam could always sleep in the empty room beside, but she didn’t care to ask them. 

It was still comfortable to have them sleep within this room, the very same room she had raised Jurot in with her husband.

‘Are you not taking too long to return, Surot?’

Omen: 4, 7

“Are you enjoying yourselves in the Iyr?” Adam asked, rubbing his stomach, which was full of food. 

“It is quite the idyllic life,” Dunes admitted. “It reminds me so much of my home, and yet, there are so much which is different.”

“Like what?”

“The children,” Dunes admitted. “They have so much freedom in the Iyr.”

“Freedom?”

“They may move as they please within the Iyr.”

“They do not,” Jurot said. “There are places they can and cannot go, and they obey these rules.”

“Just like us,” Adam said.

Jurot nodded.

“Though, I get what you mean,” Adam said. “The children here are allowed to roam as they please. I saw Elder Zijin’s daughters… nieces? Well, I saw them move about the warehouse as they pleased.”

“We keep an eye on all the children,” Jurot said. “Young children are eager to die, so it is a challenge to stop them from dying.”

Adam blinked. “What?”

“What?” Jurot replied.

“You make it sound like it’s some type of game.”

“It is not a game,” Jurot stated, firmly. “It is a challenge to us, and a responsibility.”

“So you let children try to kill themselves and then stop them right before they die?”

“We give children to do as they please, and it if leads to their demise, we stop it before they die.”

“How close to death do you stop it?”

“We allow them to drop from a great height, and catch them before they land.”

Adam blinked. “Jurot, that’s…”

“It is the way of we Iyrmen,” Jurot said. “Children can only learn once they experience it.”

“So what happens if you fail to save them?” Adam asked.

“We will shame ourselves for allowing them to die before resurrecting them,” Jurot said.

Dunes coughed, burrowing his brows together in alarm, before staring at the Iyrman. “Excuse me?”

Jurot nodded, excusing Dunes.

“What did you just say?” Dunes asked, his eyes wide in shock.

“We shame ourselves.”

“After that.”

“We resurrect our dead children.”

“You… what?”

“We resurrect our dead children.”

Dunes stared at the Iyrman long and hard. “You resurrect your dead children?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Jurot squinted towards the Priest. “Why?”

“Yes. Why do you resurrect your dead children?”

“They are dead.”

“Why do you not leave them to die?”

“Leave them to die?” Jurot asked, furrowing his brows.

“We do not leave our children to die,” Kitool said.

“To bring back the dead, it’s expensive magic,” Dunes said. “If you are not able to save them quickly, the price increases tenfold.”

“Yes,” Jurot said.

“Is that not a waste of-“

“Dunes,” Adam interrupted, noting how Jurot’s brow twitched. “Perhaps to you, life isn’t worth a few hundred gold, but that isn’t the same to others.”

“That is not what I meant. I just…” Dunes flushed, realising what he had said in his shock. “Of course that we should help our children, but is death really so easy to overcome?”

“We do not overcome death,” Jurot stated, his voice low. “We pray to Baktu for his grace, to allow their souls to return to their body.”

“Baktu returns the souls of your children?” Dunes asked.

“Yes,” Jurot replied. “Baktu returns the souls of our children so they may continue to live their lives.”

“The Iyr sure is rich,” Dunes said, rubbing his head. “I had heard that the Iyr takes good care of its children, to the point of fanaticism, but to hear that it was true.”

“Isn’t the Iyr amazing?” Adam said, smiling at the Priest. “When they say they care for their children, they put their gold where their mouth is.”

Dunes couldn’t help but feel that Adam was taking a shot at him. “They are great people, certainly. Though I can’t help but think that their wealth could be used elsewhere, where it could be better used to defend its lands and to promote greater growth.”

“There is no greater growth than the future,” Jurot said.

“And our children are our future,” Kitool added.

“Even if Raygak is stupid.” Jaygak smiled towards her brother, who was playing with the other children nearby.

Jurot looked at Adam, wondering if he was going to tell her off. 

Adam nodded.

Rain fell, and the thunder began.

 

 

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Dunes, man. Don't say that sort of thing in the Iyr, you idiot.