[Flashback] My Son, My Son (Solo)

[Xalet]

79th day of Fall, 509 AV

"You've grown up to be quite a handsome young man." said a Human woman as she cleaned off a small table that could at best comfortably seat two people. It was square and dark in color, the wood painted over after showing significant signs of wear. It sat low to the ground as those that ate from it sat upon their knees, shoes removed while within the home. The only immediate chair in the home sat near a desk, where a few texts sat involving the history of Syliras, the Knights, the Gods, and a few other assorted common bits of knowledge that one could find within the well protected Castle City of Syliras.

The woman was tall, nearing six feet in height herself, with dark hair that was pulled up into a tight bun. The looked like anything but a frail woman, though quite a few age lines found their way about her mouth and eyes. Her long reach made easy work of the table in front of her as she swept a piece of cloth back and forth over it, although the inside of the small room appeared spotless and not exactly in need of such a vigorous cleansing. "But you should take the time to visit your mother more often. Ever since you've begun living at the barracks you don't visit as much anymore." her voice was calm and not at all demanding, but meant as a reminder to Xalet not to take for granted his remaining parent.

"I will do so, mother." Xalet replied in-between breaths. Nearby he was gripping a support beam within the room, lifting himself up and down upon it. Each contraction of his shoulders and back forced his biceps to jut outward as his neck strained to reach the beam, before he would breathe out forcefully and relax himself back down. Even in times like this, Xalet had to be training. At least one hour a day had to be given toward the perfection of his physical body, that was the restriction of his Patron. On this day, Xalet had spent the majority of it with his mother, and now as she prepared dinner worked to participate in such bodily labor so as not to go against his Patron's wishes.

"I know you will. You work hard, so I'm proud. Your father would be too." her voice cracked a bit at that. She assumed his father would be, although he had been out of the picture now for over two decades. Once the table was prepared she moved a small vase with a single blooming flower back atop it's black painted surface.

[Xalet]

When his mother spoke of his father Xalet paused for a moment between his repetitions before switching his hands from an underhand grip to an overhand grip. Once his hands were firmly planted he began lifting himself up and down again. Each time his heavy body came upward an audible creek echoed throughout the small room. If he hadn't done the same so many times in the past, it would leave the occupants wondering if the roof was going to come down. It always held fast, however, and kept Xalet aloft despite any pressure he put upon it. After a while the Akalak released his hold entirely, letting his weight land back upon his bare feet, those large purple toes cushioning his decent to the floor.

"Would he?" Xalet said finally. To some they would be wondering exactly what he was responding to, but his mother knew, he was talking about his father again. Most times Xalet kept the thought of his father out of his mind, but for a while the Akalak had no male figure to look up to. He had his mother, whom was integral to his life, and his Patron, whom was also a woman, but no man besides the occasional trainer decided by the Knighthood. "I don't know anything about him." he added after a time of shaking his arms out, before jumping up and gripping the beam once more.

"Oh Xalet, my son, my son. I've told you before, your father..." she stopped and seemed to deviate a bit, as if she was about to say one thing, but quickly filled her mouth with different words, "...was just like you. Tall, strong, brave..." she went on, but the words somehow felt hollow. Xalet could tell. He spent a lot of time just listening to people, trying to decipher the meaning behind their words. Humans showed a lot of emotion, much more than the other Akalaks he had met in the Knighthood. With a careful eye you could start to understand what a Human really meant when they spoke. Sometimes the truth was there, but it was covered by rhetorical fluff.

Xalet began to tuck his knees up into his stomach, pulsing that movement over and over. The exercise was meant to work out his abdomen, or as his Patron called it, his 'core'. She often told him that the core of the body was the base for all strength, and similar, the axis point where all of his combat maneuvers would come from. A strong core made a strong Knight, that was what she would often tell him. He breathed in through his nose as he worked his core out, those muscles shortening and contracting with each intake of air. His toes would just barely touch the floor if he made them. All the while he had some plans for his future that he wished to discuss with his mother.

[Xalet]

As Xalet's mother went to take out her dinnerware he began to explain some of the ideas he had, "I think I want to go to Riverfall." he said simply as he contracted his stomach and continued to work hard at keeping his abdomen tight. After about twenty repetitions he dropped from the beam and took a few moments to himself to stretch out his stomach muscles, now tight and burning slightly. All the while his mother stayed mostly quiet, trying to think of exactly how to respond to her sons request. She loved Xalet, but going to Riverfall after all those years was...not something she wanted for him. Not after...the incident.

"Riverfall? Why would you want to go there? Everything you have is right here in Syliras. You've got your training, your patron, the knighthood, and your mother. It's all here, Xalet." she reasoned with him, placing two earthen plates upon the table before setting a slightly tarnished fork and knife next to each. A white cloth rested beneath the utensils, and lastly she picked up a pitcher filled with fresh water. Setting a glass in front of each plate she poured some of the cool liquid within each container, "Syliras is a better place for you, Xalet. That's why I came here. There's opportunity here for you. I know things were hard at first, but you're doing so well now. You're getting along with the other squires and soon enough you'll be a Knight."

"I know." he began to turn his body to the side as he continued raising his knees, working the sides of his abdomen. He said he knew, but did he? He knew nothing about Riverfall, not even what it looked life. The only thing he could think about was how that was his birthplace. How that was the birthplace for nearly all of the Akalak. A dying breed, so to speak. "When I become a Knight, it may be impossible, but I think as a squire I could get leave to go. To see the place I came from, it may help me understand." That which he wished to understand he kept as a secret for now. It was something he wasn't proud of, and while his mother would be the best at understanding.

For a long time Xalet believed he was completely in control of his darker half. He felt like he had subjugated it enough to become the undisputed master of his body, but he was finding out that wasn't true at all. That other half was more prominent than ever now, showing up without warning more and more. There were a few Akalak's in Syliras, but somehow Xalet felt like the answer was out there, outside of the walls of Syliras. He had to find them before it was too late.

[Xalet]

"You're growing up Xalet." the woman said with a sigh, recognizing it was only so long before she could keep her son from feeling the call of the Akalak culture. At his age he would have had his hunt by now and achieved his lakan. He would be going about the rites of adulthood, and sometime in the future expected to find a woman. His mother couldn't believe her Xalet was ready for all that though. Syliras was all he had ever known. As strong and proud as he was, he couldn't be ready for the less civilized lives that were led outside of the well protected lands of Sylira. Those other places had value, but it wasn't something she wanted for her son, not yet. "But not everything is as you'd expect it to be. I can't promise what things would be like for you over there, in that place. There's so much more here in Syliras. The other squires, they're your brothers and sisters, they understand you, and you understand them."

She tried to remind him of this. As difficult as Xalet had it when he was a child due to his race, simply living inside of Syliras for all those years made people more tolerant of him as a person. Considering that he was a Akalak that put a large emphasis of being in complete control of his darker side, that gave several individuals reason enough to trust in him, including his Patron. She knew that as quiet as Xalet was he had met and worked with many Human people that accepted him for who he was, but she couldn't promise that an Akalak whom had never gone through his rites would be so accepted in a place like Riverfall.

"Yes." he replied, still working hard before dinner, a thin sheen of sweat covering his cheeks and forehead, making them glimmer in the low light of the room. Eventually his repetitions were complete and he released his hands from the beam above, taking a moment to stretch out his arms. Each large bicep came across his chest as he pushed it with effort to lengthen the muscles as far as they would go, repeating the process with the opposite arm. He reached out and gripped the entry way door frame before pulling himself forward, stretching out his tired abdominal muscles.

"I feel like a part of me is still there though. I wouldn't stay long, just long enough to see what it's like. Syliras will always be my home." Just like anyone in Xalet's stage of development, he couldn't help but wonder sometimes just where he came from. What were the Akalak's that lived only in Riverfall like? What did they do? Were they just like him? At the very least Xalet had picked up enough of his native language from the other Akalak squires and Knights to be able to speak it to some degree, so if he needed to use it while there he could. He had to go though, and it had to be soon. He wanted to get that urgency across to his mother.

[Xalet]

As Xalet did his work, so did his mother. From out of his field of vision she appeared with a large pot of steaming contents. A hearty stew, one of the things he enjoyed most. With large cut potatoes, greens, carrots, and beef so soft it nearly fell apart. His mother knew Xalet had an almost insensitive pallet, and so she made sure to season the stew to excess, just as he liked. Her son enjoyed spice in nearly everything, and the more spice the better. When something was enough to nearly burn the tongue off of a typical Human with flavor, that meant it was enough for Xalet. Thus, the stew also had it's fill of ground pepper and spice oils mixed in. It was lucky enough his mother enjoyed a full flavored meal as well, although even she had to take her time when eating the things her son enjoyed the most.

[color=#FFBFFF]"Well, let us talk no more of that now, Xalet. The stew is ready and you mustn't let it get cold. I made it just as you like." she seemed quick to put that pot in it's place and begin ladling heavy portions of the still steaming semi-liquid into corresponding carved wooden bowls. Was she attempting to change the subject on Xalet? Perhaps, but a good meal was enough to take the thoughts from him. When he was hungry the Akalak certainly knew how to eat, and the large frame of his wasn't simply for show. All that weight required a proper amount of protein and calories to keep in working order, especially considering all of the time he spent enacting the many physical requirements of the Knighthood.

Xalet pulled up a chair and sat down upon it heavily, clearing his throat slightly as he caught his breath. He positioned his mug of water over toward the right side of his bowl and turned his spoon so it's curve was facing downward toward the table until his mother was seated. Once she finished dispensing the food and placed the pot atop it's slate, the tall woman took a seat and Xalet began to eat. It was then that Juliette felt it important to inform Xalet, "I've been speaking to my brother as well. He tells me you're doing excellently. Even the horses are warming up to you, and I said 'well isn't that just darling'. I remember when you were little you used to be so afraid of horses."

Xalet could feel it, a story of his childhood was coming, and he didn't like where this was going. Things happened in his childhood, he understood this, but he always thought it was a bit strange how he never remembered them so vividly himself. He just had to leave it to his mother to continue being herself, as it seemed each time he visited her she revealed some other embarrassing story about his younger years. "Yes mother, but--"

"And this one time this young one, barely a pony was chasing after a butterfly and you thought it was coming for you, you ran all around the field trying to get away from it. You kept saying..." and on she went, as how mother's sometimes do. There were times when Xalet hoped he could block all that foreign information out, but part of him realized that this was the true value in having a family. There was a certain feeling being there with his mother that he never experienced with others, even with his Patron. Some connection that was beyond his basic understanding. He couldnt' help but think, it felt important. It felt good.

[Paragon]

Xalet : Xalet Skill XP Reward Bodybuilding +3 Investigation +1 Lore: Call of the Akalak Other: N/A Wonderful solo, you captured the mother-son bond really well. If you were wondering, the point in investigation is for Xalet knowing that his mother was withholding information. - if you have ANY questions or concerns about this grading, don't hesitate to PM me.