[center][h2]Keregar[/h2]Warlord of Kereg-Kor, Husband of Xaelia[sub][@Ellion][/sub] and Nadia[sub][@Vesuvius00][/sub]
[b]Interacting with:[/b] No one[hr][/center]Varzar stood before his father’s door. His fist a mere inch from the door. Ready to knock. Yet he didn’t. As he stood frozen in place by indecisiveness a myriad of thoughts raged through his head. What would his father say? Or think? What would the punishment be? Doubt and fear was strangling his heart. He almost walked away but the tears of Nadia he saw just a few hours earlier made him turn on his heel again. “Five seconds of courage.” He told himself in his head. “Five seconds, that’s all I need.” More determined than ever he marched straight for the door, knocked and nearly pissed himself when his father immediately answered: “Enter.” All the courage fled him but he couldn’t turn away now. Slowly he opened the door and quickly closed it behind him. His father was writing a letter. It was the most serene thing Varzar had seen his father do. “what do you want, boy?”

“I’m here to talk about my mothers.” Keregar looked up from the parchment. [b]“They’re not your mothers.”[/b] He said while dipping his quill in ink and continue writing. “Gems, then.” Varzar corrected himself as he approached the Warlord. “They’re going to die.” Keregar stern but uncaring face did not change. “I mean soon. They’re going to die soon. Neither can survive Drakka. I talked with them and-“ “And you were blinded by your youth.” Keregar dropped the quill in the ink pot and leaned backwards in his chair. [b]“All Gems die. In a year. In five years. Maybe twenty. But they die. Always.”[/b] Varzar swallowed deeply. “No I mean… they will die soon. Kieran is already hunting one. The twins can snap them like twigs [i]by accident[/i]!” Keregar stilled looked uncaring. “They will die and then.. I will have to-“ Varzar could control himself anymore. He tried to wipe a tear away. “Then I have to bury them- under- under the old tree.” The little Drakkan was sobbing now. “And- And I say my prayer and- and- I just can’t… dad. I can’t. Not again. I already did it. I already buried three mothers. I know they couldn’t help it. I know they broke the rules but- but I still buried them. And I still mourned them.”

Keregar let his son cry for a moment. His face was still icy cold. Though when Varzar, rather ashamed of how he looked before his father, quickly gathered himself again the Warlord spoke: [b]“You love them too much.”[/b] Inside he was utterly disgusted. How would one of his blood get so misguided? [b]“They are Gems. Slaves. [i]Brides[/i]!”[/b] His temper was flaring up now. How could his own son be so stupid? So short-sighted? [b]“You talk as if they are more than just tools. They exist to bare us children. They bore your brothers. They bore you! That is their purpose once chosen! Beyond the delivery of a child they have no use. No reason to live. Of course they die, son. They have to.”[/b] Keregar got up from behind his desk.[b] “I may not have taught you that lesson very well. So let me teach it to you again.”[/b] Keregar leaned over his desk with both fists resting on it. [b]“You will bury these Gems too. And the ones that come after them and the ones after that. And then, after a few centuries of burying your so-called ‘mothers’ you will bury your first bride. And then another and another. Finally you will start burying the brides of your sons. That’s a lot of deaths. If you love every single one of them, you won’t live another century. But I don’t blame you for that.”[/b] Calmer now, Keregar sat back down. [b]“They can be dangerous, venomous creatures. They strike at your heart. Make you care.”[/b]

“Father no.” Varzar sat wide-eyed looking at his father. He just made things worse. So much worse. “No, no, no they didn’t do anything! I swear they’re just. They miss home! Like you miss  home!”

His son had to learn. But Keregar couldn’t just break the care he had for his new mothers. Besides, it was true that Kieran was already on the prowl. Keregar needed his Gems to live a little longer. He needed his tools to live a little longer. Not that he really wanted another child. But in his old days, the services they provided became increasingly more enjoyable. Maybe it was a gift from Sorrak? Either way, he needed them to survive another few years. [b]“Very well. I will ease their suffering. Maybe give them a few gifts tomorrow, from the markets.”[/b] Varzar’s eyes lit up in happiness. [b]“But you… You will have to do something in return.”[/b] The light in his eyes vanished quickly. [b]“You will hurt one of them.”[/b]
[hr]
When the sun rose from the horizon, the metal clash could be heard from outside. Varzar held his shield high and sword ready as one of the twins was raining down hammer blows. The other two children of Keregar was doing push-ups in the wet mud. All under supervision of the great Warlord. But he could see that his youngest was not paying as much attention as he should. His eyes kept turning to the door towards the house, and the rooms beyond. Kieran, on the other hand, had utter bitterness in his eyes. Something happened last night, everyone could see it. But only Keregar and Kieran knew exactly what had happened. For now Keregar let his gems sleep in. There was no reason to wake them.