“You are the grandson of Flame Brand?” Tanika asked, the giant woman shuffling closer to stand beside her father. She recalled meeting the Iyrman so many years ago, it must have been, thirty? Forty years ago?

“In the Iyrman’s sense, yes,” the half elf replied. “She is my grandmother, like Jurot is my brother, and the Mad Dog and the Rising Swallow are my grandfather and grandmother too.”

“You are no Iyrman?”

“I am not.”

‘It is time,’ the young sand giant thought, her eyes darting to her father. “You see, he is the grandson of Flame Brand.”

“Is that true?” the father asked, his eyes falling upon the Gaks before him.

“It is true,” Laygak admitted.

“What of you?”

“We are her grandnephews and grandniece.”

“That’s right!” Adam declared. “You should meet Taygak! Taygak, come here, introduce yourself to the sand giants.”

“I am Taygak,” Taygak said in the devilkin tongue.

“Hello,” the sand giant replied. “I am Charek. I met your grandaunt many years ago, when I was barely a man.”

“Grandaunt stated the sand giants treated her well,” Taygak confirmed, bowing her head.

“It was a shame she was forced away from the land,” Charek stated, frowning. “I heard your family had struggled, but when I saw her, I thought she would be able to carve your family’s name into history.”

“Yes,” Taygak confirmed, swallowing the bitterness that was her family’s curse.

“Taygak here is going to bring the family’s name up,” Adam said, patting the teen’s back gently. “Her cousin, Jaygak, already made a bit of a name for herself when she beat up the King’s Sword’s daughter a couple of years ago at the tournament, but she retired early to help Taygak soar.”

“She defeated the King’s Sword’s daughter?” Charek replied, his voice full of surprise, but he smiled. “It seems there is no need to worry of the Gak family this generation!”

“Exactly! So you should remember the name Taygak, our Taygak, who will rise so high! Not just her, because in twenty years her name will be well known, but then ten years after, it’ll be Raygak too, and then after that…” The half elf’s smile faltered slightly. “Kavgak and Tavgak, you’ll know of those two after.”

“What of Maygak and Faygak?” Dunes joked.

“They will stay small and cute forever, and they won’t escape from my arms, those two cuties,” Adam whispered, half in pain, partly from the cringe, partly from the anxiety.

“I will pray the Orders will not force the Gaks away,” Charek said, his eyes falling upon Kal Uli, the pair bowing to greet one another. Charek had noted the Black Lion remained slightly distant, an observer, something which was curious indeed, but he lived a long life by not getting involved in this type of thing.

“I’m going to be well known too,” the young lady giant said. “If you are still looking for warriors to join you on the way to Black Mountain, I will join you!”

“Tanika!” Charek called out.

“It is time!” Tanika replied, turning to face her father, giant butcher knife in hand, her father also holding a giant butcher knife, each a different steel, one for slicing, the other for dicing, but both good enough for killing another.

“Stop this foolishness at once, you brat!” Charek growled, glaring at his daughter, his eyes glistening with worry.

“You cannot stop me! You will hear it too, my name, in the next few years!”

Charek grit his teeth, letting out light coughs of pain as he tried to think of the words to say. “I already told you, when it is time, you can leave!”

“It is time now!”

“It is not!”

“You will see, father! I will become the greatest hero, and you can hold your head high, especially when the wyrms come to buy your meat!” Tanika declared, lowering her stance lightly, as though ready to fight.

“Okay,” called a voice. Even Adam’s head snapped to the side, noting Bael standing tall and proud, arms crossed, his eyes upon the young giant woman.

“My Lord, please,” Charek called. “This is a matter of our family.”

“Lord?” Bael raised a hand, blue lightning crackling around his arm, towards his fingers, ready to shoot a beam of lightning towards the giant.

“Oi,” Adam warned, narrowing his eyes.

The crackling of lightning dissipated into nothingness, the half dragon crossing his arms again, while the pair of giants turned towards the half elf for a moment, eyeing him up, while the half elf seemed slightly annoyed by the half dragon.

‘Does he not know who the Lord is?’

“For now, you can assist me on my journey,” Bael said. “I require a squire who isn’t as weak as the typical mortal?”

Adam blinked. ‘Huh?’

“Thank you, my Lord!”

“Just call me Bael,” Bael replied, slowly growing more annoyed by the title.

“Yeah, don’t call anyone in our party Lord, otherwise I’ll refuse,” Adam said.

“Refuse? She is my squire.”

“If someone is calling someone Lord, especially you, it’ll annoy me too much,” the half elf replied. “Don’t make me beat the nobility out of you.”

“Do you think you can defeat me if I don’t hold back?”

“Do you think you can defeat me if I don’t hold back?” the half elf returned.

“Yes.”

“I think I can beat you.”

“You will be unable to,” Bael said.

“Really? Why?”

“You do not have a Spark.”

Charek raised his brows, not realising Bael was an older dragon, but also…

Tanika eyed up the half elf, realising, along with her father, that he wasn’t an ordinary being in the slightest if a dragon in disguise needed to burn their Spark in order to deal with him.

“How old are you?” Bael asked.

“Fifty nine,” Tanika replied.

“You are old enough to make your own decisions,” Bael said. “If you wish to join me, you may.”

“I will!” Tanika said.

Charek clenched his fists together, but thankfully for him, Ramzan stepped forward, the sand giant adorned in breastplate.

“Are you causing trouble for the customers?” Ramzan asked, the large sand giant with skin of bronze, his hair whitened by age and stress, his greatblade upon his back forged seemingly out of a slab of stone.

“I am going to leave with them to fight,” Tanika finally said.

“Do not trouble them,” Ramzan growled, reaching up to rub his forehead, before glancing aside to the group. “I apologise for Tanika, she has always been such trouble.”

“She will join me on my adventure,” Bael said.

“I’m afraid I cannot allow that without Charek’s permission,” Ramzan said.

“She is a grown woman,” Bael said, narrowing his eyes, his lips forming a wider smile. “Kizwolima, step towards mister Adam.”

The girl quickly rushed away to Adam, the giant’s eyes falling upon the little merman girl, before noting the look within Bael’s eyes. Adam ruffled Kizwolima’s hair gently, chuckling lightly, glancing between the pair. Ramzan remained silent for a long moment, before reaching up to his blade.

“Hey, hey, hey,” Adam called, clapping his hands together. “Seriously, what are you guys doing? Is that how it works in your society? Isn’t she a grown woman? You need to allow her to…”

Jurot glanced aside, towards Adam, who winced in pain. He was unable to speak the words, imagining his own children wishing to escape his arms. The half elf’s eyes shut tight, covering them as his entire body filled with anxiety, weighing him down.

“Once they’re adults, we’ve got to let them free,” the half elf managed to say, through his fear. “We’ve just got to trust that we’ve raised them well, and pray for good fortune.”

Charek frowned, but he could see at the very least, the half elf was a father too. The giant glanced aside to Ramzan, and he closed his eyes. “It is not the same, young man, for she is my only child.”

“I can see why you are so protective then…” Adam said, glancing between the pair, since even if she had complained all this time, she had remained by her father’s side. From what he had seen, he hadn’t physically tried to stop her either. “I mean, wouldn’t it be rather romantic that the Gak family makes a name for itself, with the assistance of your daughter?”

Charek’s eyes fell upon his daughter, his lips still firmly planted into a frown. He closed his eyes once more, for his daughter looked so much like her mother, and had managed to outlive her. The old man reached up to his face. “I would like at least four or five grandchildren.”

“Do you have any interested in that?” Adam asked.

“No,” the woman admitted.

“Well, do the children have to be blood related?” the half elf asked.

“It would be best, but I would just like for you to become a mother, otherwise you will not understand what it means to live.”

“I know what it means to live without having a child,” Tanika snapped back at her father.

“At least use a shield!” The sand giant turned, storming off into the tent. “I don’t want to outlive you too, you damn auroch!”

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Poor Charek. We understand. We understand.