Omen: 6, 12

“Who is this little girl?” Tizgak asked, staring down at the girl who stared up at him in shock.

Lanarot’s eyes fell to Rokan, who was staring down at her, and then the next person as the new Iyrmen continued to say their hellos. The Iyrmen pet her head or brush her hair, or kiss her forehead as they introduced themselves.

Eventually Lanarot squirmed and hacked out a cry, hiding herself away from the strangers, though they continued to play with her.

‘At least they know how amazing she is,’ Adam thought. ‘That’s exactly how you should behave with my little sister.’

“I bet he’s thinking something stupid,” Jaygak said to Lucy.

“I’m not taking that bet,” the Demon replied.

Adam clipped on a long cloak over himself, opting for it rather than a coat. There was something about wearing a cloak which felt romantic, and he felt it easier to walk around with the cloak than a coat.

Jurot placed a hand on Adam’s shoulder. “Have fun, Adam.”

“I’ll try, but you never know,” Adam replied.

“Take Phantom with you, just in case.”

‘Why do I need Phantom?’ Adam thought. He was going somewhere with the children, so wouldn’t it be safe? “Alright…”

Jurot nodded his head, his lips twitching into a smile.

“Are you ready?” called Elder Zijin as he approached.

“Yeah,” Adam replied.

The children, who had been dressed by their parents, allowing them a club at their side just in case, also replied affirmatively.

“Good,” the Elder said. “Kitool will guide you, though you can also follow my family.”

“Wait,” Adam said. “How long will it be?”

“The entire day,” Elder Zijin said.

“You mean, to dusk?”

“A few hours before.”

“Then I’m not ready.” Adam barged towards the group around his sister. “You can play with her later, but I need to recharge.”

The group looked up at him, but Sonarot handed the girl over, and Adam held his sister.

Adam brushed Lanarot’s hair. “Tell me if any of them bully you, Lanababy. I’ll beat them up when I come back, okay?”

Lanarot babbled in response and Adam kissed her nose, before hugging her tight. Lanarot rested her head against his chest.

Halikan couldn’t control herself from laughing, and the others soon joined. “He really is queer.”

‘I don’t want him to be my General any more,’ Lucy thought. ‘He’s too cringe.’

Eventually, he followed the other families. There were many others who were making their way, with hundreds of Iyrmen following the same trail.

‘Why did I need to follow the Jin family when we’re all going the same way?’ Adam thought.

The path veered a few times, going from tunnel to tunnel, before eventually they were walking along a path with the nightval sun above them.

They stopped half way through near an open clearing to allow the younger children to rest, with a handful of others who also had young children. However, before an hour had passed since they had left, they finally came across what they had come for.

“I should have expected as much,” Adam said, looking down to the large platform.

Adam should have expected there was a large arena within the Iyr. It was circular, the seats had been carved into the mountain side, staring about two and a half metres up. It was about fifty metres from wall to wall, with four exits, which were large.

There were at least a thousand Iyrmen here, and there were still some trickling in. Most of the Iyrmen were sitting around one third of the arena, which was where Adam was led, but there was a line of Iyrmen from the third set of seats which ran along the entire arena, sitting a couple of metres apart from one another.

Once the group was sat down, the children picking who they wanted to sit beside, drinks and snacks began to passed out by the Iyrmen, all bundled in paper bags. They handed out a tray to each side, who would pass the bags towards the centre first before taking their own. The children kept the food on their lap, though sipped away at their drinks.

Everything ran smoothly, with Iyrman efficiency. The Iyrmen continued to speak with one another, and Adam looked down at the platform, wondering what would come out.

‘Monsters, probably,’ Adam said, thinking about how he had to keep Phantom beside him.

Then it came, silencing the Iyrmen.

The rumble of the drums.

The echoes of the flutes.

The tingling of the lyres.

There was another sound which came with it, the hammering of steps, as out from the four walls came a stream of Iyrmen, each playing an instrument, not just drums and flutes and lyres, but a myriad of other instruments, as well as their boots.

The Iyrmen began to swerve, joining together, like a furled string as they marched and played. There were only a hundred of them, and though they looked rather small from so far away, their movements were so flawless, that Adam understood this would have taken hours upon hours to perfect to such a degree.

‘Wait a second. Heavily militarised. Calling it sockball. Marching bands.’ Adam watched as the group of Iyrmen played, moving together in tandem, forming shapes and patterns which flowed like water. It was mesmerising, and Adam lost himself into the art, the music and the patterns hypnotising him.

‘I really shouldn’t introduce guns into this world,’ he affirmed.

The Iyrmen who were playing their instruments were most youths, with a third of them being older then their twenties, but most were in their early or mid teens.

Perception Check

D20 + 3 = 12 (9)

Adam did not managed to spot a familiar face, but Raygak tapped his thigh. “Look!” Raygak said, pointing near the side.

Spell: Guidance

1D3 = 1 (1)

Perception Check

D20 + 4 = 5 (1)

D20 + 4 = 6 (2)

Adam narrowed his eyes, trying to look at what Raygak was pointing at. “Raygak, what do your Iyrman eyes see?”

However, it was Turot who pat Adam’s leg and pointed. “It’s sister!” he whispered proudly.

Adam narrowed his eyes to see the girl with Turot and Raygak both pointing it out to him. There, near the end, but then the start, then the middle, due to how the Iyrmen moved in their patterns, was Nirot.

She was playing a set of pan flutes.

‘I can’t believe she copied me,’ Adam joked.

Adam watched as the group of Iyrmen continued to move and march, though they soon stepped to the side, still stomping together, and that was when another hundred, perhaps more, Iyrmen stormed out from the walls, each carrying with them weapons, as varied as the tattoos on their foreheads.

They moved together, before marching like the band had. However, as they shifted from their pattern, they would form a circle, and several Iyrmen would break from the circle, slightly delayed from one another.

Each had a few seconds to themselves, and they would run towards the centre, before revealing a trick. From walking up the staff they were holding towards the tip to look out towards the horizon before continuing forward, to showing a flurry of swordplay, to juggling axes, the youth were showing off to their audience.

“That was Cousin Faool,” Turot said, whispering towards Adam. “He stood atop the tip of the staff and looked towards us.”

“Oh,” Adam said, recalling the very first Iyrman who had slipped out. “Kitool’s cousin?”

“Yes.

“Uncle Raool’s son?”

“Yes.”

‘What the hell. How are they built so different?’

“Look!” Taygak said, pointing towards a Devilkin who was up next.

“It’s brother Laygak!” Saygak shouted, clapping his hands.

Laygak, who held sword in hand, balanced the sword hilt against his nose, before spinning on his heel and started to moonwalk to his place in line.

Adam wasn’t sure what he just saw. ‘That doesn’t seem realistic in the slightest.’

Another Iyrman, a beautiful young woman with a greatsword, appeared, spinning the huge blade between her elbows.

“That’s Cousin Naqokan,” Turot said, pointing to the woman.

“Of course it is,” Adam said. ‘She does look a lot like Halikan.’

Eventually, he spotted a familiar face, who spun her shield between her hands like a it was a pizza pie, with the axe spinning atop it, all the while marching to her place, swaying from side to side.

Turot began to clap his hands excitedly, half squealing with utter joy. “Nirot!” he shouted, smiling wide.

Adam thought about how cool they all were. Yes, he could enchant and do magic, but that wasn’t really skill. ‘I shouldn’t compare myself to Iyrmen.’

Eventually most of the music faded, only the older Iyrmen playing their instruments, and the Iyrmen broke off into groups, each of them moving to those who held similar weapons.

They moved in unison, slashing, lunging, and retreating together, before the music changed, and the entire arena erupted in chaos as the various Iyrmen, all grouped up with their weapons, began to fight one another.

Adam blinked, not expecting it in the slightest. The groups all fought with one another with a viciousness only an Iyrman could show.

The children, including those of other families, shouted the names of their relatives, their brothers, sisters, and cousins.

Faool had managed to last for a short while, but was one of the middle of the pack to be knocked out. Nirot had managed to win from her group, holding up her axe and shield as she roared with her rage. Laygak had been one of the last few in his own group, before dropping near the end. Naqokan, held her own towards the end, but dropped together with an Orcish Iyrman.

Turot cheered, jumping out of his seat as he clapped his hands. The other children also cheered for Nirot, and their Cousins.

“Did Naqokan drop with a Jin?” Adam asked.

“Yes, that is Cousin Uwajin,” Raygak said.

‘That’s just too convenient,’ Adam thought. ‘Ool and Gak fall, Rot managed to win, and the Kan and Jin fall together. You really couldn’t write it to be more perfect.’