‘Damn it, Adam! Damn it! Why are you so cringe? Didn’t you say you were going to kill it? You should kill yo-,’ Adam tensed up, holding his head within his hands. ‘Come on, man. Come on!’
“Okay?” Jurot asked once Adam was finally up, the half elf sighing, his eyes glistening.
“I’m an idiot, Jurot.”
“Yes.”
“Alright, mate, no need to rush to defend me or anything.” Adam’s accent shifted slightly to one that did not exist within the world. “Jurot, man.”
“I will assist you greater,” Jurot promised.
“I shouldn’t have you assist me to stop being an idiot.”
“Adam, you are strong, but you are too emotional. It is equally your greatest strength and your greatest weakness. It can remain your greatest strength, if you choose to temper your tongue.”
“I’m such an idiot, Jurot. I already tried, and within a couple of weeks I’m back to doing it again, and with Dunes’ Order of all places.”
“It is not easy to change.”
“Jurot, man…” Adam leaned further back into his chair, staring up at the sky, still so bright, though noon passed them by so long ago. The sky was almost clear, save for distant clouds which approached on the horizon.
“You can do it,” Jurot said firmly, as though he believed it.
Adam continued to stare at the sky, ashamed to hear the words from his brother. He understood why he was so on edge, taking it out on the nobles and the various Orders, but...
‘I need to pick fights with the proper people, not Dunes’ family.’
‘Did I join some insane fellow?’ Tanika thought, having not seen Adam behave so ridiculous before, not realising she had met with him after he had tried to kill the cringe within his heart.
Anka had left, taking Barak with her so he could sleep in peace. His gum filled smile accompanied his mother on the way to a nearby building. She thought about the half elf’s words, feeling partly annoyed by them, but also partly guilty. However, she also realised just how strong he was, since he had defeated the Poison Sword Dragon, and yet if the Poison Sword Dragon would have threatened them, the Order wouldn’t have reacted quite as hostile, but to Adam, they had chosen to react calmly.
‘If we’re barely able to look the Poison Sword Dragon in his eyes, how are we able to threaten someone who defeated him?’ Anka sighed, planting a kiss upon her son’s forehead, before allowing him to sleep peacefully.
As evening drew near, the group gathered within the large garden, where many of the Order set up the various tents and tables, wishing to eat under the clear air that evening, especially with so many guests. As the Iyrmen and the Order mingled together, Adam remained seated to one side, though as the moments passed, he stood, approaching the central table.
Adilnur accompanied the half elf to a table near the edge, the pair sitting opposite one another.
“You know, this is the second time that I got into trouble with an Order for speaking my mind,” the half elf joked. “It’s worse, though, because I hold this Order in high regard, and I also hold Lady Arya in high regard.”
“Five Moons?”
“Yeah,” Adam replied, smiling awkwardly. “Thankfully, the Mother Moon, no…”
“Mother Crescent.”
“Yes, thank you. I’m terrible with names, as I’m sure you’ve figured out. Well, Mother Crescent, she was apologetic on her other Moon’s behalf, and since she had treated us really well, I felt rather guilty that she was apologising instead of the two who picked a fight with me. I didn’t know at the time that the Order had such trouble with half elf men, if I had known that, I would have been nicer. However, this place?” Adam sighed. “The wound is still fresh, but I shouldn’t use that as an excuse, and I’m very sorry.”
“You are a young, hot blooded man, with such passion,” Adilnur almost accused.
“Mo, I’m not the kind who apologises with just my words, and I’m not sure how to make it up to you, but I’ll say this. Right now, I’m strong enough to defeat your First Blade. I don’t know how long it’ll take me, maybe ten years, maybe fifty, maybe one hundred years, but I’ll be twice as strong as I am now.”
“You should moderate how much you show off,” Adilnur joked.
Adam let out a light scoff, smiling. He opened his mouth to make a joke, but paused for a moment. “One day, I’ll be stronger than I am now, but I’m still pretty useful. Although I will come to the aid of Black Mountain if it requires it, out of my respect for Mo Dunes, who walked beside me to face certain death, I promise you, if Black Mountain is ever in grave danger, I will come to defend it, at least once.”
“At least once?”
“Allow me to meet your various Priests, and if they ever come into the thought that something, say the Reavers join together and aim solely for your Order, or something else comes to threaten Black Mountain in such a way, one of them can call for me, and I will come.”
Adilnur stared within the half elf’s eyes, seeing the clarity within them, hearing the seriousness within his tone, and beyond that, seeing the way the half elf’s colours turned pure. Then, there was something else, something that oppressed upon the Mustashalur’s shoulders.
‘Within the span of six years, this young man has gained the strength to defeat our First Blade. In one hundred years, what kind of monster will he become? If evil takes root within his heart…’
“It is unimaginable for our Black Mountain to know of such a threat, shielded by the Lady’s grace, but how many have spoken such words?” Adilnur asked. “Impossible, they say. Then, as though they were villains within a story, the impossible became possible.”
Adam bowed his head toward the Mustashalur, who understood the severity of the half elf’s words. “I promise I’ll try harder to try and cultivate a better relationship with Black Mountain too.”
“A difficult task for someone who is so passionate,” Adilnur teased, pouring them pink tea, sipping his own lightly, scalding his tongue. He healed his mouth while the half elf sipped away at the near boiling tea, but somehow seemed, mostly, unbothered by the heat.
“Before I came here, back when were in the capital, I promised I would kill the cringe in my heart. The, uh, it means… acting like a fool, that sort of thing, and I did fairly well. Then, I don’t know. I think it’s become a habit at this point so I need to actively fight it, I just thought…”
“You were too comfortable?” Adilnur asked.
“Exactly.”
“I will pray for you tonight.”
“Please ask the Malawi to pray for me too, since I’m twice as foolish as you think I am,” Adam joked, before leaning back in his chair, glad he had managed to smooth things over slightly. ‘I hope nothing ever threatens Black Mountain enough to call me, though.’
As dinner passed, Adilnur spoke with his younger brother, pouring him a cup of warm water, his eyes scanning across the bare walls. “Do you know what he promised?”
“What was it?”
“If Black Mountain is ever in grave danger, he will come to defend it, at least once,” Adilnur said.
“What could ever threaten Black Mountain?” Hassan replied.
“Should I regret handing you the position when you are such a fool, little brother?” Adilnur asked, sipping his warm water lightly, closing his eyes. “Black Mountain treads carefully, because the world is full of dangers. We, who are surrounded by those who wish to claim Lord Noor as the greatest, even speaking such to we of Black Mountain, in which the oldest temple to the Lady of War survives. Have they pointed their blades towards us just once or twice?”
“It is of a time long past.”
“The Reavers, too, are from a time long past,” Adilnur stated. “We have managed to survive this long due to old legends during the Demonic Devastation. Black Mountain, which had been betrayed by the Shen, and yet when the demons ravaged the land, and dared to point their wicked claws towards the Shen, who was it that protected the royal family? It was fortune, Fate, perhaps, that during the time in seclusion, pressed upon by the Shen, when we trained secretly to create such a powerful force, that the demons came to attack.”
“Just how much face will we lose?” Hassan asked.
“Tell them I have lost face, and you, the Malawi, fought me greatly.”
“How can they believe those words?”
Adilnur smiled slightly towards his younger brother, closing his eyes. He leaned back within his chair. “What has happened to my little brother who used to cry when I stole his flatbread?”
“It wasn’t just flatbread, it was always those which were filled with cheese and herbs,” Hassan complained. “Every time.”
Adilnur smiled to himself. “The most delicious flatbread of all.”
Hassan grew with annoyance, but he let out a frustrated sigh, since what could he say to his elder brother, who had stepped back to allow him to take the position of Malawi and the Fariq of Black Mountain, while protecting him from the figures who wished to press him down even within their home.
“Hassan,” Adilnur called, opening his eyes, catching his younger brother’s eyes. “The wind is blowing in a new era.”
Hassan held his elder brother’s gaze, letting out another sigh, one that was full of stress. He was fairly healthy, though he was so old, so he would live long enough to see the start of this new era. ‘Should I retire?’
PATREON LINK
Poor Hassan.