Omen: 4, 19

Mana: 18 -> 14

Enchanting Check

D20 + 7 = 23 (16)

Omen: 4, 19 -> 4

19 + 7 = 26

Adam plucked a Thread of Fate.

The winds continued to whip harshly, and Sir Harold Merryweather sighed. He had waited for a long while already, the winds too harsh to fly through. He had spent too long away from the village, and he was worried, especially after being informed that Sir Royce had left.

No doubt the King would not leave the village be.

Yet, though it appeared the winds would continue to howl, they suddenly died down. He did not spend the moment thanking his good fortune, instead leaping off the mountain, before his steed caught him, the gryphon’s wings beating hard as they flew back towards their village.

Thus Fate was forever changed.

“Finally!” Adam stretched out his arms. “That should be good. Hey, Bell, if I leave it and come back to it another time, will the enchantment be ruined?’

[No.]

“Sweet!”

Adam yawned, before taking the greatsword back to Elder Zijin. “I just need five days of bad luck and it’ll be done.”

“Bad luck?”

“Yeah, I don’t need to think to focus too hard on it, I just need to spend the time and Mana.”

Zijin stared at Adam. “Are you certain?”

“That’s how it worked last time,” Adam replied, shrugging his shoulders. When making Phantom, he only had to work hard for three dice rolls, and the he was able to finish by going through the motions.

A thought crossed the Elder’s mind. “Perhaps you do not need to enchant it any longer.”

“What do you mean?” Adam asked.

“I would like to see whether you are required to finish the blade,” Zijin said. It was quite a costly procedure, but it was something which could be useful for the Iyr to know.

“I am,” Adam said, nodding his head.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, because I…” Adam stopped. ‘Am I really needed to finish the enchantment?’

[No.]

“Oh,” Adam said. “Perhaps I’m not, but…” ‘What about the XP?’

[That is unique to you.]

‘It is?’

[Yes.]

‘Oh. Cool.’ “Apparently, I’m not,” Adam eventually said, the Elder staring at him as he had talked to himself.

“I will speak with the Great Elders.”

“Alright. Let me know if it works out.” Adam tapped his forehead in a casual salute, before leaving the Elder to his business.

‘If they can finish off what I do, that would be nice,’ Adam thought. ‘I need to figure out how to teach Churot magic still.’

Adam sighed as he returned back to the shared family estate. There, everyone was waiting for him, from his brother to his companions, the rest of Fate’s Golden, his party.

“Yo,” Adam said, waving a hand towards the group, picking up his sister, who had been sucking on a block.

“Good evening,” Jurot replied, inviting Adam to sit with them.

“Oof.” Adam could feel the ache from sitting in one position for too long. “I’m glad that I have the day off tomorrow.”

“Have you prepared your gift?” Jurot asked.

“Yeah, what about you?”

Jurot nodded slowly.

“I’ll bring more than enough gifts for the rest of you too, so don’t worry about it too much,” Adam said to the rest of the group. He had wondered how weddings worked in the Iyr, and had invited everyone else. The children of the other Iyrmen had also been brought along for the wedding, though the teens and the adults were going to work as normal.

Adam looked to Dunes, but noted that he didn’t seem too different. ‘Your old man’s getting married and you’re acting like it has nothing to do with you.’ Adam looked up towards the sky, wondering if his children would be so apathetic to him.

“You are thinking again?” Jurot asked.

“That’s just how I am,” Adam replied, slowly forming a smirk.

“Thinking too much is bad for the heart.”

“Yeah?” Adam chuckled. “You’re certainly not wrong.”

Jurot wondered what Adam was thinking to make him so melancholic. Was it about that thing again? Just how dangerous was it for Adam to constantly think of it?

Meanwhile, Zijin finished his report to the Great Elders.

Adam’s behaviour was always peculiar, the Great Elders didn’t think too much about that matter. However, the Chief remained silent.

“That is a little too convenient,” Elder Forest eventually said. “To be able to enchant for two days and allow another to finish the weapon, to form a greater enhanced weapon.”

“It is a small price to confirm,” Elder Gold refuted.

Elder Forest couldn’t deny that. “Since this matter falls to you, I will follow your lead.”

It was quite the thought which Zijin had thought of.

“If it is true that Adam is able to enchant for two or three days, and we can continue his enchantment…” Elder Gold left the question hang in the air.

“How is it that he is always causing us trouble?” Elder Forest asked.

“Is it that he is causing us trouble, or that trouble follows him like a foul stench?” Elder Gold asked.

“He may not believe it is trouble,” Elder Teacher said. “He has a different sense than we Iyrmen, as we have a different sense to the Aldish.”

“There are commonalities between our people still,” Elder Peace added, wanting to moderate the discussion so that it did not end up with the Iyrmen speaking ill of the Aldish.

“Romaezi should take charge of the task,” Elder Gold said. “If there is anyone who could continue the enchanting process, it would be him.”

“If it still requires four week, then it would be a disappointment,” Elder Forest said.

“Unless Adam enchants the weapon with an enchantment which Romaezi is unable to enchant,” Elder Gold refuted.

Elder Forest paused. “Is the enchantment not one which Romaezi can enchant?” She tried to recall all the enchantments Romaezi could enchant.

“No,” Elder Gold said, certain of the fact. “He can enchant to deal greater damage to one when the enemy is wounded.”

Elder Forest held her chin. “Adam’s enchantment is far more useful.”

“If Romaezi is able to enchant such a weapon, then…”

“Adam could begin the enchanting process and allow us to complete it.”

“Allowing we Iyrmen to create more weapons which hold enchantments which are desirable.”

The pair of Great Elders continued to speak between one another, speaking of what they could do if this entire process worked. Since it was about resources for the Iyr, they were the most eager to discuss the topic.

Chief Iromin eventually tapped the table, causing them to stop speaking, all the while the Chief thought. “You said that Adam spoke to himself?”

“It was reported by Fawyx,” Zijin confirmed. “He had heard Adam talk to himself at the end of his enchanting.”

“You are certain he said Belle?” Iromin asked.

“Yes.”

Iromin remained silent for some time. The other Great Elders understood that this was a matter which related to Adam, something which only Iromin was privy to as the Chief.

Iromin thought about the name for a while. It was undoubtedly the name of the God of Chaos from Adam’s previous life, but he wasn’t familiar with the name in the context of their own world.

The name Belle caused Iromin to think about what he was doing. He, the Chief of the Iyr, held the greatest position in the Iyr. Elder Story outranked them all, technically, though they did not act anywhere near as much as any of them. He outranked the other Great Elders, only until they would use their own title for their limited domains.

When it came to calling for war, Elder Peace was the supreme authority, and it was the same for making peace. Elder Wrath would hold final command the armies of the Iyr. Elder Teacher made the education which all children would follow. Elder Gold held command over the resources when it came to trading and spending gold, and Elder Forest held command over how to spend the resources to expand the Iyr.

However, it was the Chief who typically led the Iyr in almost every matter. When it came to Adam, he was the supreme authority. It was the Chief’s decision as to whether Adam lived or died.

It was his duty to safeguard the Iyr by making the correct decisions day to day. He had invited Adam in, and had heard the tale from the Half Elf’s own lips, one of a handful of people who knew the story.

The Chief couldn’t help but feel that whatever decision he made would have a profound effect on the Iyr, something which the Iyr couldn’t stop once it had begun.

“What’s wrong with a little chaos?” called a voice from the rooftop. Strom continued to sip his drink. He had assured the Great Elders he would not eavesdrop on important discussions, but since Adam’s name had popped up, he couldn’t help it.

The Great Elders were unsure of what Strom truly meant, but the Chief thought deeply about what the old man had said. Strom had been vouched for by Elder Story, so the Chief had allowed Strom unfettered access to the entirety of the Iyr, though he had mostly stuck around to do as he pleased.

Strom’s identity was known to the Chief, and to Elder Peace, but not to the other Iyrmen, as all secrets worked. Each Great Elder had their own secrets, some of which were shared with others, some which was theirs to keep.

There was something which Strom and Iromin shared, and that was Adam’s story. Strom, too, knew what the name Belle meant.

Iromin wondered if mention of the name would cause Strom to act up again, but he had been so tame recently. After his escapade to the west, Strom had returned a changed man, no longer even suggesting to cause trouble.

‘What’s wrong with a little chaos?’

It may have been a statement of intention by Strom for the Chief, or it was Strom’s approval for them to allow Adam to continue causing trouble in the Iyr.

Iromin sighed. Whoever would end up as the next Chief would have quite the trouble on their hands.

At the very least, Strom would die by the end of the year.