Chương 1587: Interlude: Worries

Jaygak wore her breastplate, though it was not quite as worn as previous years. The blade at her side dangled threateningly, though not to most around her. Her dark hair had been cut short, revealing more of her beautiful curled horns, a pair of golden earrings pinched an earlobe, the woman having long decided to retire, and thus such jewellery was more appropriate to wear.

Even if many Iyrmen still wore such small, simple earrings when they were active, she did not have the luxury, for though the woman wore a smile upon her face, it was not because she was from a family like the Geks, for she was born of a family with a single letter, a single vowel, changed, and that was all the difference. This was the smile Elder Zijin saw as the woman approached, holding up her hand casually in a casual greeting towards her Elder, who had been responsible for tutoring her over the last few years.

"To dare to pluck me away from our dear Jirot, truly it must be a serious matter," the young woman joked, her lips curled into a vicious, threatening smirk.

"Is it a serious matter?" Elder Zijin mused, the Elder adorned in thick, simple attire, a thick moustache curled upon his lips, though he was no Bearded Dragon. His long hair fell down his shoulders, thick, curly, a pair of braids falling over his shoulders parting his hair into thirds. His grey skin had grown further wrinkled by time, worrying, and time worrying. It was this Elder Zijin who was a pillar of support for the younger Iyrman.

"I am certain it must be, for you understand the consequences should you play with my dear niece and I," Jaygak replied, her tone playful, though the undercurrent of a threat remained. It was this Jaygak who was a pillar of Chaos for the older Iyrman. Elder Zijin smiled, and though he made to speak, he paused, turning to look out towards the wall ahead of him.

Jaygak stepped up beside him, eyeing up the wall, and though they stood so close to one another, and their eyes fell upon the wall, which was as tall as it was, as wide as it was, formed of a particular stone, the wall was a different wall to the Elder, and a different wall to the young apprentice.

"Jurot, Kitool, Amokan, Timojin, Tanagek, Chosen," Elder Zijin began, recalling each of their faces, not as the fine adults they had become, but of the six two decades ago, when they were but toddlers, each still wearing their clothies.

"The six, who grew up so close with one another, were considered Golden Children. You, born with your weak body, yet having overcome it to become what many consider average for an Iyrman, and there is only a great honour in it." Jaygak could feel the heaviness in the air, the young woman remaining silent as the older man reminisced to another time, and as the seconds passed, she understood that the essence of what one might call a finality had come.

"I have refused the calls to place any of the children in the One Hundred," Zijin informed, causing surprise to flutter within the young woman, though as she considered the children, she had no doubt at least one of them could have joined them, and would have flourished in such training.

"I also blocked Elder Teacher in plucking them for intense education."

'What?' Jaygak thought.

'What?'

"I have written a proposal for why I believe it would be best to raise the children within the Iyr, and the business, but it is you who knows best why it is so beneficial for them to be raised so, so I will entrust the matter to you, and I will have complete faith in your judgement in such matters, though the fools we call our Great Elders may disagree," Zijin said, his voice light, though only to reveal his respect for the Great Elders.

"You placed Turot and Asorot within intense education?" Jaygak finally asked, for though the other children had no problems with receiving special education, there was one family which already possessed too much. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

"It was dangerous, since your families may have gained too much influence, however…" Elder Zijin paused a moment, for he could feel the apprehension of the future prickling his temple.

"The Iyr shut its gates. Elder Story left the Iyr. So many Great Twilights in such quick succession. The Reavers finally descending into the world once more. The last few years have confirmed we have entered an era defined by Chaos. We must adapt quickly, and we cannot allow the worry that your families, who are Iyrmen by the same rights afforded to us all, are rising too quickly."

"It is fortunate that the reason why they are all rising is because of a fool who keeps cutting off his arms and legs for us voluntarily," Jaygak joked. Zijin let out a stifled chuckle, for perhaps Jaygak may not have realised it, but she had confirmed the reason why Zijin had picked her.

"Though a few years ago one may have been able to deny my request, we must not allow the Iyr to grow complacent, and we must believe in the next generation to correct any mistakes we made, we who made such mistakes with the best of thoughts within our hearts." Jaygak's smile faltered slightly, considering the heaviness within the Elder's words, which carried such hope.

"There is the mermen saying, that a rising tide, carries all ships."

"That fool could have distanced himself from the Iyr, but he did not. He gave himself willingly. We have already rewarded that faith in him, silencing the Mad Dog was only a bonus." Zijin reached up to his forehead, for the name had caused him such trouble even throughout his time as an Elder, and that was when he was the least troublesome.

"Adam, should he had wished, could have chosen to become a great figure within Aldland, in Aswadasad, Drakkenlan, perhaps even as far as The Confederacy. Adam, he was offered such before by Queen Silvari, and yet, he gave himself to us, he chained himself willingly, and he chained his family too. He did so, for the children. Not just his own, but for the younger children he had watched growing, far too quickly, those children who grew."

Jaygak thought of her younger brother, who had known the half elf for half his life, most of his living memory. That Raygak, who she would tease so often, and would often trouble, especially when it came to stealing his peppers, the same Raygak who had watched over his sisters well, for he was a much better brother than she was a sister.

"Do you understand, Jaygak?" Zijin continued, his voice holding an even greater weight.

"We hold in the palm of our hands cursed gold. We must believe the Iyr is greater than the curse, and that the gold is greater than any gold we possess. Jaygak, you know what must be done. If Adam lives or if Adam dies, it rests upon your shoulders. Yet, even as we speak of him, Adam is not the most important task the Iyr must consider. You, as an Elder, will know secrets which cannot be revealed. Secrets of the Iyr and other lands."

"I understand."

"If you did not, I would not have brought you here today," Zijin said, turning to face the young woman, and for a moment, the Elder's heart filled with anxiety. It wasn't fair of him to leave her with so much work, so many threads with so many loose ends, with so many regrets. Yet, even as his heart wished for him to stop, his hand reached into his robes, revealing a black book. Jaygak's eyes snapped to the book, her heart suddenly beginning to thunder within her chest, a chill spreading through her skin.

Her eyes then darted up to meet the Elder's, and as he bowed his head, she reached up with a tentative hand, forcing herself not to tremble. It was cold. The leather had hardened due to the lingering chill of nighval, and as the young woman held it within her hand, a little tighter than she should have, perhaps, she slowly clasped it with her other hand, as though not trusting herself to hold it with just a single hand. Her eyes met the Elder's once more.

"Jaygak," Zijin said, causing a great panic within the young woman.

"Whether you wish to fight the Great Elders, or whether you will obey their demands, it is solely up to whether you are willing to accept the consequences of your actions. If you must fight against them, fight against them."

"Yes?" Jaygak replied. Zijin replied with a gentle smile and a bow of his head, allowing her to open the book.

'Ah,' Jaygak thought, surprised at the long list she saw first, though after considering it, what else did she expect for the book to start other than reasons to kill the half elf? Zijin smiled, then looked back to the wall. It was a wall that was new to him, for this was not the Front Iyr he grew up knowing.

It was this Front Iyr, however, many Iyrmen would grow up knowing, those who would, in no time at all, be his age, and they will see it too, a wall that they did not grow up knowing, and yet it would be the Iyr all the same. Jaygak snapped the book shut, staring at the wall ahead of her, but it was not the wall she was looking at, her eyes trembling.

"Elder Zijin?"

"Yes?"

"Is it true?"

"Perhaps it is a lie?" Zijin replied, reaching over to her shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly as she hid her face, the tears spilling freely from her face, and the Elder's heart grew heavier, for he understood he had left her many burdens which were unfair to her.