Omen: 12, 14

Lanarot snoozed quietly atop Adam’s chest, the gentle sway of her older brother’s chest rocking her deeper into her slumber. Adam stared up at the ceiling, his eyes half glazed over.

‘This is the best life,’ he thought. ‘Why did I leave the Iyr? Lanarot is here, and the rest of my family. I can train, smith, enchant in the Iyr. I can sleep, eat, drink, and play in the Iyr. I could grab a book and write up some more for Warriors and Wanderers.’

He sighed, his chest deflating, causing Lanarot to stir.

He thought about all those outside of the Iyr. Nobby, his uncles, as well as the farmers. Then there was Mara, who he still needed to save, and Freja, who he hadn’t made any progress towards.

‘Where the hell is Dark Harvest?’

Lanarot’s eyes opened, gently fluttering as she fought away her slumber. She looked up, seeing the familiar face. She stared at Adam, before she smiled.

“Good morning,” Adam said, reaching down to brush her hair.

Lanarot squealed and laid her head against his chest again, feeling the strong hand against her head, before it rubbed against her back.

“Did you have a nice sleep, Lanababy?”

“Oo.”

Adam smiled, lifting her up gently, before sitting up, holding the girl in his arms. “Why are you so heavy?”

Lanarot giggled again. “Papa.”

“Yes, that’s right!” Adam nuzzled her nose, before kissing her cheek.

Adam stepped out to train in the morning, feeling the heat of a noonval morning welcome him. However, as he began to workout, he stopped.

Many of his aunts were sitting together, and they were chatting to each other casually. It wasn’t unusual, they always sat and chatted together, but here were all his aunts, save for Sonarot.

‘Hmm?’ Adam felt something in his gut churn. ‘Why isn’t Sonarot there?’

The other children were all playing nearby, and they rushed up to Adam.

“Cousin Adam,” Katool said, looking up at Adam. Her bob cut was a little longer now, the longest it had been in a long while. “Come play.”

“Okay.” Adam was unable to say no to his adorable little cousin, playing with her as he thought deeply about why they would leave Sonarot out. ‘Is it because of me?’

The other Iyrmen returned from their morning baths. They had trained lightly earlier, while Adam was trapped under his little sister.

“Jurot,” Adam whispered, motioning the Iyrman closer with his head. “They’ll all sitting together without Aunt.”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“They are pregnant.”

“Oh,” Adam said. The words slowly processed within his mind. “You what?”

“They are pregnant,” Jurot replied, simply.

“All of them?”

“Yes,” Jurot said, a small smile appearing on his face. “Our family will soon grow.”

Adam wasn’t sure what to say. He wasn’t close with most of his aunts, and some of them even despised him. He had even beat two of them not long ago, and now they were pregnant.

He approached the group of women. “Uh, good morning.”

“Good morning, Adam,” Citool said. She was the closest to Adam after Sonarot, and tolerated his jokes almost as well.

“I heard… that you were all… uh… congratulations.” Adam winced, having never felt so awkward before in this life. Even when he congratulated the Mir women, it hadn’t been this bad.

Citool bowed her head. “Thank you, Adam. Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Are you?”

“Okay,” Citool replied, nodding her head towards the Half Elf. She could see how tense he was.

“If you need anything, just let me know,” Adam said, before waddling away in retreat.

Two thoughts passed through his mind.

‘Why the hell are all the Iyrmen pregnant?’

‘Do I need to beat them up again after they give birth?’

They had fought previously because Adam wanted to spoil the children with his gifts, and he had won the right. However, that was for Taygak and the others, not the children who had yet to be born.

“One gold,” Jaygak whispered to Kitool.

“No,” Kitool said, knowing that she would lose that bet immediately judging by Adam’s face.

Adam didn’t feel much of a change as he went about his morning, going to bathe before returning for breakfast. It seemed almost business as usual, and it was so very different to the Front Iyr. When he returned, he found Jarot sitting. Churot was nearby, with Jaygak playing with him.

“What’s wrong?” Adam asked, sitting opposite the one armed Iyrman, noting the look on his face.

“That…” Jarot grit his teeth, his neck straining as he contained his anger. There were children about, so he couldn’t overtly curse. “My younger brother seeks to shame me.”

“Granduncle Sarot?” Adam asked.

Jarot groaned. “That…” His neck strained again. “I wished to go and fight, but he wished to go instead!”

“Fight?”

“The Iyr has called for a Master from each family to ready themselves. I should go, and he should stay here as our only Grandmaster.” Jarot sipped his drink quickly, trying to calm himself. “Stay back to protect your grandson. That’s what he said to me! How dare he invoke my beloved Churot’s name to stop me!”

“Why does a Master need to be ready?”

“They need to be ready because Elder Peace has said they need to be ready.”

‘Right,’ Adam thought. ‘That’s just how the Iyr is.’ “Do you have any ideas about why?”

“I do not know. It could be because there is an outing planned due to the Great Twilight, but…” Jarot stared down at his drink. “The Iyr has called in old treaties.”

“How many treaties does the Iyr have?”

“That is a question for Elder Peace, for only they truly know.”

“Hey, Turot, how many treaties does the Iyr have?” Adam asked.

Turot, who had been listening to Taygak, sat up straight and looked to Adam, confused. “Yes, Cousin Adam?”

“Nothing,” Adam said, waving his hand to let Turot return back to listening to Taygak, chuckling at his little joke.

Jarot smiled. “There is already a new Elder Wrath, it would be difficult if another Great Elder steps down.”

“Yeah, speaking of which, how did it go? I mean, how does a Great Elder, Elder Wrath, get chosen?”

“Mulrot was there to watch. They fought one another well, but it ended with a stalemate. Their understanding of strategy was good, though not to Bovin’s level. They knew it well enough that it was also considered a draw. They then spoke to the hearts of the Iyrmen. The votes went to Shamir, who won by two votes. Mulrot voted for Zardon, and Sonarot voted for Shamir.”

“Why for Shamir?” Adam asked. He hadn’t realised that each family held two votes. ‘So does that mean there’s five hundred families?’

“I did not feel swayed one way or another, but I know you have a connection with the Mir family,” Sonarot said.

Adam smiled, nodding his head. “I guess that’s how it goes.”

Breakfast passed by uneventfully, though Adam was deep in thought.

“Aunt, I need to speak with you a little later,” Adam said.

“Okay,” Sonarot replied.

Adam made his way to the centre estate, where Elder Zijin was currently checking all manner of books, before covering them as the Half Elf approached.

“Good morning, Elder Zijin,” Adam called.

“Good morning, Adam.” Elder Zijin nodded, smiling. He wondered what Adam was going to ask of him. He could smell it, the mischief.

Adam cleared his throat. “I was just wondering if maybe I could…” He paused, trying to find a way to ask politely. “I’d like to cast a spell within the Iyr.”

“Which spell?”

“Fly.”

Elder Zijin almost denied the request, but he managed to catch himself. “Why?”

Adam cleared his throat. “Well, you know… I want to be able to fly Lanarot around.”

The Elder smiled. He had expected it was to do with Lanarot. “That is quite the ask.”

“Come on, Elder Zijin. I want to fly her around. I don’t want to go too high, just a little bit, you know?” Adam pleaded.

Zijin pulled back, sighing. Of course it was a request like this. Zijin wondered what he did to deserve someone like Adam in his life. “I can approve the request, only if you do not fly higher than the middle floors of the buildings, and you cannot fly outside the nearby estates.”

“You’re the best Elder a Half Elf can ask for,” Adam said, grinning wide. “Alright, see you!”

“Adam,” Zijin called.

“Yeah?” Adam looked back over his shoulder, his face full of worry, as though his scam had been caught out.

“Thank you for bringing back my niece’s body,” he said, nodding his head slowly.

Adam remained silent for a moment, his mind flashing back to the temple. “Yeah. Any time.” The Half Elf left quietly.

Zijin returned back to his work, shaking his head. Adam’s antics may cause him some trouble, but how could he refuse such an adorable request? Especially after what he had done for them.

Lanarot gasped as she stared down, staring at the floor as it drew further away from her, before looking around. Adam held her in his arms, feeling how she had frozen up. “Look! You’re flying, Lanababy.”

Lanarot’s eyes were wide as she flew with Adam, who slowly moved them around, and as he tried to reposition her, she grabbed his sleeve, looking around.

“Flying, Lanababy,” Adam cooed.

Once she had gotten used to the sensation, the girl screamed with joy, and started to laugh. The other children watched as Adam carried the girl, circling around the courtyard.

The aunts watched Adam as he flew around with Lanarot. They decided against making any comments, instead keeping an eye on the Half Elf making sure he didn’t go too far, or do anything too dangerous.

Once the minutes passed, Adam landed, and Lanarot cautiously stood, holding onto Adam’s legs as she stared at the ground, feeling her weight keep her down.

“Cousin Adam, I go,” Taygak said, staring up at Adam.

“You want a turn?” Adam asked, smiling down at her, before his gaze turned towards Kaygak.

“Mother,” Taygak called. “Taygak fly.”

Kaygak sighed, nodding her head. Adam had already managed to win the hearts of the children, and it was too late to stop his antics.

Taygak remained almost frozen as Adam flew her around. Then it was Turot’s turn, and he had been the same, frozen as he felt the strange sensation.

Katool excitedly stepped up, and she clutched onto Adam’s sleeve, as Lanarot had done. She squealed in delight as her hair flew about.

Damokan and Kalokan were carried together, one in each arm, holding each other’s hand as Adam circled around the area with them.

“Mother! Look!” Raygak shouted down towards Lavgak as he flew. He threw out his arms, laughing like a hyena, and he didn’t stop even after he was placed down on the floor.

Saygak remained quiet, frozen like Taygak and Turot. The only word he could recall was the word which Tariel constantly tapped when she walked around the Iyr. There was a deeper feeling, though. Flying felt so… magical.