Chương 1244: [1161] - Y06.061 - Dawnval Festival IV

'Should I take my shirt off today?' Adam thought, the later afternoon sun still illuminating much of the Iyr. His eyes darted to the side, where he spotted Vonda with their children, sitting upon their blankets as Konarot read a book to them, sneaking bites of a sandwich from her mother's hand. His eyes then fell back to the topless Iyrmen, each who wore only shorts, their wooden blades threatening to break one another's bones as they beat one another black and blue.

"Kaza," Kavgak called, throwing a look to Adam beside her as she pointed at the figures in front of them.

"Fighting."

"That's right," Adam replied, while little Maygak, who had sat silently upon Adam's lap, stirred and looked to the side, towards her elder sister. The girl's eyes remained glued to Kavgak for a long while, taking in the sight of the toddler who watched over her so dutifully. She smiled shyly, glad her sister was beside her, for that was the joy of a child so young.

The trio sat upon the wooden seats, which were sectioned off by large wooden trays, allowing them to sit two and a half aside, the perfect amount of space for two grown adults and a child between them, with easy access to their snacks on either side. Maygak had sat beside Adam, but whimpered and cried without Adam and Kavgak on either side of her, though she settled on sitting upon Adam's lap so her elder sister was right beside her too.

"Big. Strong." Kavgak stared at the fighting, as though engraving it within her heart, though she had seen a great many Iyrmen fight, some of whom were red skinned and horned like her.

"Yeah, that's right."

"Kaka Jay." Adam smiled.

"Yeah. She's big and strong too." The girl blinked, slowly bobbing her head up and down, her attention returning completely upon the fight, the sounds of the fights filling her ears. Adam could see the innocence within the girl's eyes still. She was so young, not yet five. The girl was quiet, and though she could speak well as any of her peers, she spoke so much like her cousin, Taygak. In the Iyr's tongue, she spoke more confidently, though even then she was efficient with her words.

His eyes fell down to Maygak, who was always so shy with her elder sister, though was so confident with the younger set of toddlers. The girl would often look beside her as though to check if her elder sister was still around, and though Adam kept an arm around the girl, she felt safest beside her older sister, the four year toddler who watched the fights with great intensity.

Adam blinked hard, feeling his heart swell at the girls, wishing at first that they were his children, then for them to be his sisters, only to then recall they were his cousins and were close enough to sisters to him, cursing himself for not enchanting them more magical weapons. It was after the immediate cringe, the half elf began to feel a chill sombreness encroach within his heart.

'Jaygak, you picked a terrible time to retire.' The seriousness of Adam's words filled his heart.

'No, isn't it the perfect time? Is that what it is? That this is the perfect time, so that they can grow up hearing all about it? So you can stay here and watch over them?' Adam thought of Jaygak's story. Indeed, in the Iyr, it was one of the best. She had gone from someone who knew she could not reach a greater height, to gaining a story that would be enough for the likes of the Rot, Kan, and Jin families. Her story was even greater when considering the context behind such stories.

She was a Gak, plagued by misfortunes. In her first tournament, she dropped out around the preliminaries. It was a tournament Adam hated too, not because he had lost, but because he had lost in such a way against the King's Sword's daughter, Sir Roseia. Then, years later, Adam and Jaygak joined another tournament. In that tournament, the pair had left a great mark within the North.

Adam who had come first, allowing the Princess to draw with him, but there was another story, a greater story, which had been born at that time. Adam recalled it, the feeling of beating down Jaygak with his blade. The same Jaygak who had defeated Sir Rory of the Golden Spears, and the same Jaygak who had defeated Sir Eliza of the Snow Storm.

It was that Jaygak who had come face to face against the mountain known as Sir Roseia, daughter of the King's Sword, the same young woman who had placed first in the noonval tournament all those years ago. That Jaygak who swung her blade one swing at a time, and had managed to claim second place. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Adam reached up and laid a hand upon Kavgak's hat. He brought the children's heads to his chest, hiding the wetness of his eyes.

"Kavgak, Maygak. Even though your elder sister is being so silly and letting me steal you away, know that she loves you. Even though I love you so much, you have to remember, kaka Jaygak loves you both so much."

"Love kaka too," Kavgak assured, holding onto the half elf's neck as she hugged him. Maygak cuddled between her sister and her cousin, the fuzziness filling the girl, who almost burst from her joy. Adam's heart began to lighten, for Raygak, who he hadn't seen in some time, had grown up hearing the tales of misfortune. The boy's grandfather who had passed away when the Mad Dog went for his vengeance. His grandaunt who had burned brightly in Aswadasad, and was forced away before she could stamp her name in history.

The names of all his ancestors, one by one, plagued by misfortune going back almost a millennia. Yet, though Raygak had heard all these stories, Adam could still see how his eyes shone brightly, for the first half of his life he may have heard such misfortunes, the second half of his life was brightened by the sun known as Jaygak. The half elf smiled, pulling both girls onto his lap, hugging them even tighter, spreading his warmth through them.

"You two, you can't bully your brother, okay? You two are too lucky, because you're growing up at a time… Jaygak, your kaka, she is so amazing!" Adam's heart swelled once more.

'You two! How lucky can you get?' Raygak had grown up during a time when the Gak family had only a single hope to succeed, the hope known as Taygak, but even she did not believe in herself. Kavgak and Maygak, along with Tavgak and Faygak, however, grew up in the Gak family which had a very different Taygak, and a very different Jaygak.

'Grow up slowly, my little cousins,' Adam thought, embracing the girls even tighter.

'Make sure you watch your elder cousin. Make sure you listen to her tales. No matter what comes her way, Jaygak and I, we'll clear a path for her. Then, when it's your time to shine, Jaygak and I, and your cousin too, we'll clear a path for you.' Adam counted the years within his mind.

'I've got at least… twelve? Thirteen years? In that time, I've got to make sure you can travel the land peacefully. Not peacefully, but at the very least, without worrying about Aldish blades to stab you in the… who am I kidding, not even I'm that strong.' The screaming distracted the half elf, who jolted upwards, before his eyes fell to the side, where so much attention fell upon a particular girl.

She held a half eaten flatbread in one hand, and held up her other fist, the girl screaming with delight as blood was finally spilled.

'You really are an Iyrman,' Adam thought. The fighting and wrestling continued, though Kavgak and Maygak eventually called out to return to their family. Adam carried the pair against his chest, bringing them to their grandmother, an older Iyrman, with a thin nose and broken horns. As he made to hand them over, he found his arms unable to open, wishing to keep the girls within his arms.

"Kavgak, Maygak, do you wish to sit upon my lap or upon your cousin's lap?" Jigak asked.

"Nana lap!" Kavgak declared, and her sister, who was uncertain, decided to follow along too.

"That's right! You two, you're both so well behaved! You know whose lap you should return to!" Adam peppered their foreheads with kisses, before letting them escape his arms, though his heart ached as they quickly embraced their grandmother.

"Are you still working so hard?" Jigak asked, her narrow eyes full of an accusation Adam had gotten used to.

"Who else if not me?"

"You and Jaygak, you both bring such honour to our family."

"I bring honour to your family?" Adam asked.

"Since you call sister your grandmother, is it not so?" Jigak teased, causing Adam to flush lightly. She allowed him to leave. She had seen how tired those shoulders had been when he came to collect the girls, but now those shoulders were not quite as low, instead taut with burden. Jigak thought about her granddaughter, who would often trouble Gangak with her antics when she was a girl. She thought about how much she had changed, and how much she had not. She let out a low sigh.

'You are all growing up too fast.' Jigak raised her brows as Adam approached once more, this time coddling a different pair of children, but an expected pair.

"Did you two miss me so much?"

"Yes!" Jirot and Jarot both replied, before scrambling up beside her to hug her so tightly. Jigak smiled, feeling the affection of the four children who adored her so much. She thought back to the births of the goblins. She was glad she had thought to adopt them back then, and though the Rot family eventually accepted them, no one could deny how much affection the twins held for the Gak family, nor the affection the Gak family held for the twins.

"Do they not hug you so?" Jigak teased, noting Adam staring at them, though he almost twitched, returning back to the present.

"How can they hug me like that when they love you that much?" Adam joked. The woman smiled towards the half elf, bowing her head lightly. She had no idea what the half elf was thinking, but surely it was troublesome, since he was his daughter's father.

"You see, nano? Daddy is always bullying me!"