Chương 1716: [1613] – Y07.113 – Hearts of Fire III

"There are many heroes within your group, so I was unable to recognise your amulet," the Rais began, reaching over to pour the half elf a drink, though as he did, he reached for the milk instead of the alcohol.

"I am ever honoured." Adam held the Rais' gaze, holding up his small cup of milk, and sipped it lightly.

"Is my amulet so special?"

"I had not first recognised it, but who could deny that an amulet to the Lord of Death is not special?" Ash replied, holding the half elf's gaze with a knowing look, and it was then the half dragon realised the half elf had half forgotten the meaning of his obsidian amulet, which had been forged from the Will of the Divine. It meant the half elf was a fool, or he was a fool, but a fool the Lord of Death had personally picked as his Chosen.

Adam held the older half dragon's gaze, but slowly a small body of green began to take over his periphery.

"I would like to introduce you to my children. This is my daughter, Jirot, and my son, Jarot."

"Hello," the girl said, half glancing at the Rais, clutching her father's collar.

"I am Rais Ash, of this great village, you may know it as South's Black Wall."

"I am Jirot, daughter of Ray Vonda and Mo Adam, and greatdaughter of the Mad Dog and Flame Brand. Jarot…"

"I am Jarot," the boy replied simply, causing his sister to blink and to squeeze his arm reassuringly.

"I am named after my greatfather."

"I know of one figure whose name has been written through Aswadasad's history, Giaroh the Great."

"Yes," the boy confirmed, staring up at the half dragon.

"…"

"…" Ash's eyes returned to the half elf who beamed so innocently, as though he were not a person of interest. Then he turned to face the Ray, and offered her some warm milk too.

"I hope the milk is to your liking, Ray."

"It is delicious," Vonda replied, sipping it lightly.

"You are a Ray of Hope, but from what I know of humans, you look young."

"I am the youngest Ray to date," the woman confirmed.

"I should have expected, for the youngest Ray and for a great hero like the Mo to marry, it is only logical," Rais Ash said.

"It is said that all those who become Ray must know how to cast Third Gate spells at least."

"It is the ability to cast Guardian of Faith, a Fourth Gate spell," Vonda replied, her brows furrowing almost unnoticeable, save for one who held the senses of half of a dragon, and a fool who may have held the senses of half a fae, but instead was the kind of fool who married her and kept her within his sights as much as possible.

"My mistake," Ash replied, smiling in such a manner which suggested he knew, and he poured milk into their cups, and as he waited for little Jarot to hold up a cup, the boy retreated into his father's chest.

"My son finds it difficult to eat or drink anything that isn't his gourd," Adam explained, holding an awkward, dangerous, smile upon his lips. Ash held the half elf's gaze and withdrew with the understanding it was this boy. He had already known, but the scar had confirmed it, and the half dragon glanced down to meet with the girl's gaze once more.

"You speak the tongue of silver and gold well." Stolen novel; please report.

"How can we call it the language of tongue of silver and gold when one is a half dragon?" the girl replied in the language of the land. Ash's lips twitched lightly. Then he spoke in the tongue of the dragons, and she turned to look up to her father.

"The Rais asked if you speak the dragon's tongue," Adam informed, smirking down at his daughter.

"How can I speak it when my father is so negligent?" the girl replied, causing her father to choke on air, and her mother to close her eyes, concentrating on not laughing.

"He is always working, always working. He leaves his beautiful wife home, all his sensible children, and he causes such trouble, and then after my father has his fun, he comes home and then he goes to work again, and he does not even teach me the language, it was my ahm and aila who taught it to me." Adam remained open jawed, having taken more damage from his daughter's words than any other figure he had ever fought. The half elf closed his eyes, his cheeks flushing crimson.

"You are so merciless to your father," the Rais stated.

"My father is merciless to us!" Adam swallowed, though found it difficult to do even that, and he looked away, avoiding his daughter's accusatory glare. Ash wasn't sure what to say, for the shy girl was suddenly such a vicious beast to her father, and considering the way the half elf reacted, it appeared to be the case she was typically oppressive. His jaw tensed, and as he glanced aside to her mother, the woman remained tense jawed too, the pair doing their best not to burst into laughter.

"Jirot, show mercy to your father," Vonda finally said, her tone light.

"Even though my father is so merciless, I will show mercy, because the Mother asks us all to be merciful," the girl said, clasping her hands together muttering a light prayer, her brother following a beat later. Ash pinched the bridge of his nose, almost letting smoke slip through his nostrils, but for the sake of living he did his best to not let any smoke slip, while for the sake of his pride, he did not burst into laughter, forcing away the tears from his eyes.

Vonda, too, did her best to not burst into laughter, for the girl had grown up to be too quick witted. She, too, prayed, accidentally bullying her husband, but it was to keep herself from laughing too. Meanwhile Adam also prayed, for his daughter had yet to speak a lie, and once he finished his prayer, he kissed his children's cheeks, the pair returning their own kisses.

'I see,' the Rais thought, having distilled the half elf into a certain figure within his mind. It was almost cliche, but if he was that kind of figure, then it was certainly the twenty first century, in which new figures would rise for the next millennia. He had sat opposite the half elf long enough to feel something emanating from him, not that he needed to, for the amulet alone proved who and what he was.

The problem was that he hadn't really heard of the half elf, and for someone to wear that kind of amulet, it was surprising, even if it shouldn't have been.

'Has he not requested anything of his servant yet?' Duteous Dogek returned a while later, without the great figure known as Ramizash. Ramizash was within one of the central buildings, a circular domed building, in which he remained meditating. Dealing with the Iyr was always simple, though it was not uncomplicated. The dragon had also smelled that figure's token upon one of the figures, and thus there was little he could do about the half elf, who may have been the reason why there was such a token upon them.

The smell of a rose brought a great threat behind it. It was one thing for the Emperors to fall from the heavens, and one to pass, and the rumours passed through the circle of the dragons that the Iyr's greatest guardian had left for the first time. It was said, and after a moment of the dragons thinking, the moment passed without anyone speaking up, for even if the Iyr's greatest guardian had left, even if they had, apparently, sacrificed a hundred of their Grandmasters, the Iyr was still the Iyr.

The Iyr may have been the nation known as those who enjoyed hunting dragons, had they ever gone too far? Even their dragon hunting as sport was merely against their pride, and kept the dragons sharp, and even when the oppressive dragons slew the Iyrmen who dared to hunt them, did they ever officially gather to war upon any dragon? No. It was the Iyr, with its spiderweb of alliances, even with Ramizash himself, did the Iyr continue its days, deep within their mountains.

'That Blackwater brat, I have heard he was a genius, but to think he would dare to peek towards the Iyr,' Ramizash thought. The army was decent, but his so called Grand Army, still wetting their blades against the Reavers, may have been decent for these so called Reavers, but for the Iyr?

'How should I offer my assistance to the Iyr?' Ramizash had wished he could spend a few months thinking about the matter, and though he already had considered it, there were other matters which called for him. If he had met the half elf in the previous year, he could have meditated and thought deeply about the matter with the Iyr, but after meeting him now, he was at a crossroads.

'If only my children were wiser…'