Sensation slammed itself into Cire as the world leapt into motion. He didn’t know how he ended up on his back, but he was. Durg and Selene were looking down at him. They both wore concern on their faces.

Cire felt more alive than he ever had before. His heart was bursting with affection for what his friends had given him. Tears of joy streamed down his face.

Durg pulled him up into a sitting position. Selene brushed leaves and twigs from his clothing. The forest was silent and still around them. Only the crackle of the fire gave life to the campsite.

Selene slapped him. Then she picked another twig from his shirt nonchalantly. “You alright?”

Cire moved his hand up to his cheek and rubbed it gingerly, mock glaring at her. “Better than you could imagine. I will tell you all about it some day, soon.”

A notification started blinking annoyingly in his vision. He focused on it, his conversation with Charon and delving into his memories taking a backseat.

Now that the territory has been claimed you must establish your noble house. Please select a name.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _?

Cire had an overwhelming sense of deja vu. This time though, he didn’t have to come up with a name by himself. He also had a better starting point.

“So… Selene, Durg. Seems like I have to pick a house name. I was thinking something related to Sunset. Maybe Stace or Eugene had a good family name? Have any suggestions?”

Selene cocked an eyebrow and sat down on the log she had occupied before the hullabaloo. “I do not know what either of their family names were. They may not have even had any.” She poked at the fire and added a few small branches. She looked contemplative, so Cire turned to Durg hoping he had a suggestion.

“Well boyo, we have a few different names for the places ‘round here ‘n my clan. Maybe one o’ them would be good. We call this here valley, Eventide. It be another word fa sunset.”

“If you want to go with a translation, vesper is the Elvish word for dusk. That may be suitable.” Selene offered. She tilted her head to the side in a feline fashion as she appraised his choice.

Cire was thankful to have the suggestions. He didn’t think he could have done much worse than spelling sunset backwards.

“I like both to be honest. Do either of you have my coin pouch?”

Indeed, they had all the gear he had left in the cavern. He took out a coin, it was time to test out his new increased Luck stat. Pausing dramatically, he flipped it.

A flicker of gold glistened in firelight. When the disc of metal landed in the dirt, the flames illuminated a symbol of Mount Olympus. The head of Zeus faced the ground.

“Eventide it is.”

The House of Eventide has been established. Would you like to select any additional family members?

Now that was a pleasant surprise. This would be a fitting reward for the practical joke they had played on him earlier that evening. He grinned wickedly as he reached out and put a hand on each of their shoulders.

“Congratulations, my friends.”

You have named Durg and Selene as members of House Eventide.

Cire wouldn’t have traded all the gold in the world for their priceless expressions.