Completed Another Year Begins

[Solemn Warborn]

The 1st of Summer, 514 AV Another Year Begins The cold whip of the wind bit his face, and Solemn tugged at the edges of his fur scarf, trying to pull it even farther up over his nose. It was already up as high as it could go, the edges of the fur tickling his lower eyelashes, but he still tried. He had taken a team of dogs out into the wilds south of Avanthal to train them together as a favor to Padrin, the man who had been kind enough to allow Solemn to live with him. He had stopped several times to switch the order of the dogs to train them in different positions and see where they best fit. Some dogs ran best on a single side; others, in a certain position. There were subtle differences one could spot when they ran with a team long enough. Solemn was still learning these differences between the nine dogs he was training. He didn’t know much about most of them yet, but he knew he would with time. Keld was the alpha of the group, always throwing his weight around to remind the other dogs on the team of that fact. It had been easy for Solemn to see that Keld would only be good in a lead position; the sled dog caused problems and slowed the team down whenever Solemn put him in a harness anywhere else. Brut was the beta. He had a solid ten pounds on Keld, but he didn’t mind not being in charge. He was as different from Keld as two sled dogs could possibly be. He could take any position and run it well. Whatever dog he was partnered with, Brut would match in speed, strength, and skill to keep the team balanced. Keld lived for power; Brut lived to run. Still, even though Brut was the beta, Keld knew not to push him too far. Whenever the alpha was throwing his weight around, he made sure to overlook the beta male. Although Brut was happy just being second in command, Solemn was sure Brut would start a fight if Keld got on his nerves. Solemn would have to keep an eye on the two to be certain that never happened. Leaning back against the sled, Solemn relaxed, at least as much as he could in the uncomfortable cold. Soft flakes of snow danced against the small stripe of skin around his eyes, the only part of him exposed to the unrelenting northern cold. Every contact caused him to blink, especially when one darted for his sleepy-looking eyes and his eyelashes became his best defense. It made watching the dogs difficult, but having worked with them for several months, he knew they were well-trained and would listen to his commands. He curled up closer to the sled and tried to pull the hood of his parka even farther forward. Then Solemn saw it. Movement. He sat up and focused on where the movement had come from, his hand straying to the shashka at his hip. The wilds south of Avanthal were a dangerous place filled with all sorts of dangerous creatures, and he didn’t want to risk having to face one. Finally, he spotted the source, a hare as brilliant white as the surrounding snow. He was surprised he had seen in at all. Only movement made it visible, so perfect was its camouflage. He blinked and lost it, but the dogs had sensed his sudden alarm. All nine were now alert and looking about, sniffing the air for any sign of predator or prey. If the dogs spotted the hare, Solemn would have to run after them. Running. Ugh. Even saying the word took too much effort. That’s why he only thought it. Besides, they would never notice the creature. It blended in too well, and it was downwind. Keld, not finding whatever it was that had perked Solemn’s attention, began to take out his pent up energy on the other dogs. Today, though, things were different. He wasn’t bowling the other dogs over and nipping at them like he normally did. Instead, he kept nudging two of the smaller ones with his muzzle, whining at them as if to get them to understand something. Having never seen the dog act this way, Solemn kept his eyes on the alpha, ready to drag the dog off if he started a fight with another. Keld either made his point or lost interest in the first two, because he moved on to a group of three lying in the snow by the sled. Eventually, he wandered over to the smallest dog on the team, continuing this odd display of whining and nudging before finally stopping. It was the single oddest thing Solemn had ever seen Keld do, but any danger had passed. Solemn relaxed and looked back to the other dogs. Damn it! He sat up again. The first two dogs that Keld had targeted were now missing. Solemn cast his gaze about, trying to locate them. He stood up when he couldn’t spot the two absentees in the immediate vicinity. Another flash of movement caught his eyes, and he looked past where he had seen the hare and saw the two dogs slinking forward, resembling their wild cousins in this predatory mood. Solemn sat back down, wanting to see how this turned out, not that he cared what the result was. He was simply curious. If the creature lived, it lived; if it died, it was its time. More than anything, he wanted to see the hunt. Suddenly, Keld jumped up with a yelp and took off toward the hare. The other dogs he had been nudging exploded off the ground and took off with him, forming a spread line as they ran after the hare. The hare took off away from them, thinking it had plenty of room to escape from them ahead of it. It froze for an instant when the two dogs exploded out of the snow in front of it. Immediately, it cut back the way it had come, back toward Keld and the line of other dogs. The alpha lunged for the hare, but it dodged to the side, too nimble for the large dog. However, the smallest dog matched the hare’s nimble movements, diving to meet the hare as it tried to escape them. The small dog’s jaws snapped together around the hare’s throat, and it was over. Solemn was sure the creature had cried out before it died, but it couldn’t be heard over the excited barking of the dogs. The small dog dropped the dead rabbit from its mouth and allowed the other dogs to tear off pieces first before he ran off with what was left, a single long back leg. Solemn let them finish and rest a while before he hooked them back into the line, swapping a few dogs around.

[Solemn Warborn]

The 1st of Summer, 514 AV He didn’t take the dogs as far as he normally did, because today, he had other plans. It was his birthday, and he intended to do some things for himself. The dogs pulled up to the Gates of Avanthal, and the Ice Watch bears on duty recognized him and had the gates open before he even arrived. Giving them a courteous nod, Solemn continued on toward the stables, frustrated by their professional nature and their warm acceptance of him as a sort of brother. He wished they would do something to legitimize his spite for dire polar bears, but they did not. Instead, they were ever the perfect protectors of the city and even friendly and warm with Avanthal’s people. He couldn’t hate them. That took too much effort, so he proceeded with his normal disdain. The Kelvic polar bears never noticed anyhow, because Solemn’s sleepy eyes tended to cloud any other emotion he was feeling. Solemn pulled the team up to the White Elk Stables and quickly had them next to the giant pen they shared. Removing them one at a time from the line, he checked their paws for clumps of snow and ice and signs of lacerations before taking off their harness, brushing out their fur briefly, and putting them in their enclosure. When they were all in their pen, Solemn brought them food which consisted simply of chopped up fish, a high energy diet that could meet the needs of the hardworking dogs. As Solemn was finishing up, a groom came along. “Do they need anything?” Solemn shook his head. “No. Just keep an eye on them from time to time. They got into a rabbit while we were out.” The groom nodded. Both knew that while the dogs were dangerous to their prey, their meal could be equally dangerous to them. The wild animals carried diseases and parasites that could make dogs quite sick. Chances were nothing would happen, but Solemn would be happier knowing someone was keeping an eye on them. With the groom’s promise that the dogs would be well-looked after, Solemn headed out quickly. He had one stop in mind: Snowsong hold. Due to his early start that morning with the dogs, Solemn arrived at the Hall of Aural Creation shortly after midday. He was hoping to find a single person here, but chances were slim as the Hall only had about a couple dozen rooms for musical practice. Still he wandered through, listening intently until he heard what he was searching for. It was a low, sweet feminine voice, a pure alto of nearly unmatched quality; at least, that was Solemn’s opinion. He may have been biased though. After all, this girl, Hiberna, was his sister, or she had been until she had sent him away two years ago. Regardless, Solemn still thought of her as his sister but was unsure if she still felt the same. As much as he had prepared for hearing her voice, it still caught him off guard, and a violent rush of memories left him fighting for breath. The fifteen months they had spent together as brother and sister had been the best of Solemn’s life, and while the memories were all happy ones, not having her in his life anymore made remembering them painful. He sat down and leaned his head against the wall, catching his breath while her voice filled the air around him. Her voice grew softer and purer, tripping and tumbling elegantly over the notes, until an older woman’s voice stopped her. “No, no, no, Hiberna. You need to project. How is anyone supposed to hear you if you don’t?” “If I want them to hear me, they’ll hear me.” Solemn smiled at Hiberna’s response. She was easily angered, and whenever she was angry, her eyes turned red. He imagined they were quite red now. “Take the harmony this time,” the woman instructed, sounding irritated with her student. “Match my volume.” The two voices started again together, singing an old Vantha song about Morwen and her people. Hiberna’s voice launched off the melody and commanded the harmony flawlessly, occasionally dabbling in a tight dissonance that made the song hauntingly beautiful and added a hint of sorrow. As the two moved deeper into the song, Hiberna’s tone gradually grew smoother and smoother as her voice became gentler and quieter until it reached the point where there was a harmony but its source was unidentifiable. The woman stopped the song once again. “Hiberna, how do you expect to be heard by large audiences?” “What if I don’t want large audiences?” Hiberna snapped. If her eyes weren’t red before, Solemn was certain they were now. There was a brief silence. “Hiberna, I’m sorry. Please don’t cry. I didn’t mean to upset you.” Solemn sat up. Hiberna was crying? That was not the way he had expected her to react. “It’s nothing you’ve done,” Hiberna reassured the teacher, her voice trembling as she fought to control the tears. “I just need… May I have some time alone?” “Of course. I’ll be back in a little while. We can finish then if you’re feeling up to it. If not, we’ll begin again tomorrow.” “Thank you.” The door opened a few feet from Solemn, and a Vantha woman stepped out, still fairly young, in her mid-thirties at most. Freezing for moment when she saw Solemn, she was displeased with his presence and gave him a look that said so. Solemn couldn’t be sure why. Maybe he had been glaring at her for criticizing Hiberna and making her cry. Maybe she was just embarrassed someone had overheard her making Hiberna cry. Maybe she was the mother of the girl whose jaw he had broken a couple years back. Maybe… But it didn’t matter. The Vantha woman had already swept down the hall without questioning what he was doing here. He was thankful to her for that much, for not betraying his presence. As much as Solemn wanted to see Hiberna, he didn’t want her to know he was here. She had sent him away for a reason, and it would be wrong for him to force himself back into her life again. Even doing what he was doing now, he felt terrible, as if breaking some sacred law, but it had been over two years since he had heard her voice. That was all he asked for, and if someone thought he should suffer for it, he would gladly pay the price. Still, as much as he knew he could not see her, it took everything in him to not enter the room and hug her. Hiberna began to sing, so soft and low this time Solemn could barely hear her through the thick wooden door. That women, her teacher, was wrong. Hiberna didn’t need to belt a song; she shouldn’t even though she was more than capable. Low and gentle. This was where Hiberna was in her element. Lullabies and love songs, the softest melodies meant for a mother to sooth a child or for a lover to sing in secret, almost whispered. It was a gift for a select few to hear and meant specifically for them. That was the way she sang most songs. This song in particular was quiet, so quiet at first that Solemn could not identify the melody. It wasn’t until the end that her voice built gently, and Solemn could recognize the words and the tune. I was the light that Aurora brought and I will shine all the brighter when Aurora stops. Solemn almost choked. This had been his and Hiberna’s favorite song; they had sung it many times together. He had taught it to her the day his mother had left him, and that night he had fallen asleep to that lullaby humming gently on her lips. He had not expected this, and it felt like a blow to the diaphragm. The initial sensation, however, was not the worst. The agony rose, soaring to its height in an instant and staying there. He had only felt a pain this terrible once before in his life, and it had been during the final breaking of the bond between them. His head swam in the constant barrage of waves of emotions and sensations: loneliness, cold, pain, dread, burning, fury, sadness, anger, love, envy… Love. He shoved envy aside with all of his fury and clenched as tightly as he could to that single emotion. Love. Slowly, the fog at the edges of his vision dissipated, and the fainting spell that threatened to take him disappeared. Whatever rage and whatever fear had broken the bond between them had not been powerful enough to destroy that. She was his sister, and he still loved her. There was no way she did not feel the same. Solemn spent the next half bell recovering from the shock, listening to Hiberna repeat the song again and again. The Vantha woman returned and, still seeing Solemn there, opened her mouth to question him, but Solemn quickly held a finger to his lips to keep her silent. When she hesitated, Solemn held the finger to his ear, guiding her to listen, and then pointed at the door. Curiously, the woman crept up to the door and placed her ear against it. There was a brief expression of awe before a smile burst across her face. Solemn smiled back, stood, and left.

[Solemn Warborn]

The 1st of Summer, 514 AV His walk back to Frostfawn was long. By the time he arrived at his home, he was exhausted. Just before he reached for the door, it burst open, and a young Vantha girl stepped out. “Sol, you’re home! I’ve been waiting all day.” The Vantha girl’s eyes danced between colors as she spoke. She was the daughter of Padrin, the man kind enough to give Solemn a place to live. “Good morning, Katrinaria.” “It’s afternoon, Sol. Like I said, I’ve been waiting all day. Where were you?” “Out with the dogs and then in Snowsong. Why were you waiting?” Katrinaria’s eyes began to switch between colors a little faster as she smiled. “I want a shoulder ride.” “Katrinaria, I’m exhausted. I worked hard this morning, and I’m tired.” As quickly as it had come, the smile left her face, and her eyes brimmed with tears. The disappointment in her eyes was too much for Solemn to take. “Alright, we’ll go for a short walk.” She blinked once, and the tears were gone. The little brat! He swore she could turn the tears on and off at will just to toy with his heart. He kneeled in front of her with his back toward her. “Come on, monster. Jump on.” “Thanks, Sol. Happy birthday.” Katrinaria hopped on to his shoulders, holding herself in place firmly with her legs. Even though she could hold herself well enough on her own, Solemn grasped her ankles to keep her from falling off. Though Katrinaria and Padrin were not family, he had come to think of them as very dear friends and had become very protective of Katrinaria. “Where to?” Katrinaria turned his head with her hands in the direction she wanted him to go. “Morwen’s Palace.” The two of them discussed anything they could think of on their walk to the winter Goddess’ home. Both of them being young, she only nine and he only four, they couldn’t think of a lot as they didn’t know much even between the two of them. As their conversation dwindled, Solemn tried to keep discussion going. “Have you heard the story of Marcus and Myrna Kelvic?” It was his favorite, and he loved to tell it. “Duh.” She leaned over his head and looked, upside down, into his eyes. “You’ve told it to me about five dozen times.” She rolled her eyes as she straightened back up. Solemn smiled at her fake annoyance. Unable to use his story to fill the silence, he decided just to enjoy the silence instead. Their course took them several hours, but they eventually found themselves in front of the palace. It was a breath-taking sight to behold, the entire structure constructed out of pure ice. Embedded throughout the ice were storm gems, letting off light of an unearthly nature, almost holy and befitting of a Goddess, if Morwen truly was one. “It’s so beautiful,” Katrinaria whispered as Solemn crept up to the wall. Neither knew why they were being so secretive. Morwen always welcomed visitors, and no one was turned away from her palace. Still, they approached the wall unobserved through the thick fog that was blanketing Avanthal. Filled with awe though he had seen it many times, Solemn held out his hand and placed it against the wall of the castle. It was cool, even through his thick gloves. Looking up, he saw Katrinaria doing the same. She tapped the top of his head. “Let me down.” “You could be polite and say please.” She leaned over and looked him in the eyes again with the same look of feigned irritation. “Or you could just be a gentleman and acquiesce.” Solemn smiled and kneeled. There was no arguing with her. He had already made that mistake several times, and she had won every single one. Hopping off, Katrinaria looked up at the wall soaring up before them. Her hand glided over the ice once again. “I absolutely adore what the light does to ice.” Solemn nodded, though he couldn’t decide if it was the light that acted on the ice or the other way around. The patterns of wavering light cast by the storm gems shifted, somewhat akin to the auroras that frequented the skies over the city, the only difference being that the auroras tended to dance while the light from the storm gems merely swayed. With her hands still on the walls of ice, Katrinaria looked straight up the wall. “It’s so tall.” Solemn shrugged. “It doesn’t seem so tall when you’re standing on top of it.” Katrinaria’s eyes widened as she looked up at Solemn. “You’ve been on top?” Smiling as he looked down at her, he nodded. “I have. I’d be hard pressed to name a building in Avanthal I haven’t climbed.” She looked back up toward the roof of the palace. “I can barely imagine what it’s like.” She looked back to Solemn, her eyes beginning to dance again. “Solemn, you’ve got to take me to the top of a building.” Solemn raised his eye brows in question. “Come on. Let’s go. We have to go climbing today.” “We can’t.” “Why not?” “Because if your father found out, he’d kill me.” “So?” Katrinaria seemed unconcerned by the idea. “If he kills me, who are you going to get to give you shoulder rides all the time?” Katrinaria shrugged. “I’ll find a new friend.” Solemn shook his head. “You’re heartless. You know that?” “Does that mean you’ll do it?” Solemn smiled and kneeled down again. “Jump on, monster.” “Thanks, Sol.” Her eyes began flashing between colors so quickly that Solemn couldn’t name one color before it had switched to another. “What are we going to climb?” Solemn pointed up the castle wall. “Are you serious?” He could hear the excitement in her voice. “We might as well. We’re already here.” With Katrinaria on his back and her arms wrapped around his neck, Solemn removed the belt around his parka and fastened it around both of them, securing her firmly to himself. He was definitely going to make certain she was safe on this climb. While the thought of what others would do to him if she was hurt was frightening, it was his own feelings that scared him most; he would never be able to live with himself if something happened to her. Somewhat regretting his choice to scale this particular building, he eyed it a moment to try to decide on the best way to get to the top. The walls were made of pure ice, and its smooth surface did not lend itself well to climbing. Still, when the castle had been made, beautiful designs had been crafted on to the outer wall. They were simple, not gaudy, and allowed the grandeur of the architecture and the raw power of ice to carry the beauty of the piece. But these designs offered a topography to the wall, one that created plenty of small lips to serve as handholds, and since they had been crafted by ice reaving, they would hold his weight better than ordinary ice. Finding the path he wanted to take and quickly memorizing it, Solemn reached up and caught his first handhold, the bottom of a swooping curve in the design. Hoisting himself and Katrinaria up, he moved his foot instinctually to where he knew another lip was without looking. This was one of his secrets to climbing: memorizing the layout of a surface as he passed over it and identifying where the best handholds were. This way he didn’t have to look down to find places to set his feet, and once he had summited something, he could make the descent practically blind as he still remembered the surface from the climb up. Halfway up the first story, he encountered a point where the slope of the lip was too steep, and his hand kept slipping off. Almost right away, another route formed in Solemn’s mind, and he began descending to a point where he could join it. “Why are we going back down?” Katrinaria asked. “We haven’t reached the top yet.” “Sometimes, you have to go backward to go forward.” “As long as you’re not wimping out.” Solemn laughed and skillfully extended one leg out to span a gap. Once his leg found purchase, he shifted most of his weight on to it and chose new handholds to move his body over. As he looked at the new path above him, Katrinaria distracted him with more questions. “What were you doing in Snowsong today?” He brushed the question off as if it were irrelevant. “I was just listening to people sing.” “Oh? What people?” “The Snowsongs, of course.” “Are you sure it wasn’t a particular person you were listening to?” Solemn didn’t answer. Denying it would get him nowhere. Katrinaria was too smart for that. Besides, he had to focus as he maneuvered a particularly difficult transition, bringing one foot up to a lip that was nearly at the same level as his hands. “It was her, wasn’t it?” She meant Hiberna. Solemn became defensive but distractedly so, as he had to concentrate on stretching his arm for a depression in the wall ahead of him. “There’s nothing wrong with going to listen to her sing.” Katrinaria’s response was delayed, not due to hesitance but to create a sense of calm in the conversation, something she had learned from her father. “It wasn’t an accusation, Sol.” “Then, why does it matter?” “Because I care about you. What matters to you matters to me. I just like to know what you’re thinking.” Taking a deep breath, Solemn calmed himself. There was no reason to get worked up, especially with her. Anyhow, when he didn’t feel peaceful, he felt lost, and lost was a terrible place to be. Shifting both legs beneath him, he let them support his weight while giving his arms a chance to rest. While having a strong and flexible body was important for climbing, strong fingers and a powerful grip were absolutely essential. His fingers were naturally strong due to his sloth tendencies, and his love for climbing had only made them stronger. But Katrinaria’s added weight, though minimal, was taking its toll, and Solemn flexed and relaxed his hands repeatedly to get the cramps out. “I did go to listen to her,” he finally admitted. “Did you find her?” Solemn nodded. “And?” “She sounds even more beautiful than the last time I heard her.” “Did you let her know you were there?” It was the most sensitive question she had asked yet, and her tone became gentler as she asked it. Solemn shook his head. “No.” “Things will never change between you if you never talk to each other. She’s your sister, Sol. She deserves your effort.” Katrinaria was only nine. How the hell had she become so wise? “Someday, she and I will talk,” he said, hoping Katrinaria would catch the hint that he was done with this discussion. It was one of his normal, noncommittal responses that made promises with no intent to fulfill them any time soon. Katrinaria hugged his neck a little tighter, and Solemn knew she understood the conversation was done. They were nearly to the top of the second story when a voice shouted from below. “Hey, what are you doing up there? In the name of Queen Morwen, get down.” Solemn looked down and saw a hulking man standing below. The man was tall, seven feet or more, and rippling with muscle. Undoubtedly, he was one of the Kelvic polar bears of the Ice Watch. “Way to ruin our fun, fish breath,” Solemn muttered. It was an insult he had come up with for the Ice Watch bears. It was as completely unfounded as his vague disdain for them, but it made him feel better, especially when Katrinaria used it, as she occasionally did. “Sorry, Katrinaria. It looks like our fun is over.”

[Solemn Warborn]

The 1st of Summer, 514 AV Solemn steadily and expertly retraced his climb back to the ground where he undid the belt and let Katrinaria free. He faced the displeased looking man and prepared himself for a lecture. “Morwen’s Palace is not a playground. Have some respect for her home. She’s a Goddess, after all.” Another man, likely the Kelvic’s bondmate, walked up. “What’s going on?” Before the first man could respond, Katrinaria whispered loudly so everyone could hear. “Does he have stinky fish breath, too?” “Katrinaria! You can’t just say things like that in front of people,” Solemn chastised but smiled. “But no. He’s not a bear. Only the bears have the fish breath.” The Kelvic man bit back his anger and kept himself calm, but his Vantha partner did not appreciate anyone slandering the Ice Watch. He slammed Solemn up against the icy wall of the palace. The guard was a head shorter than Solemn, but that didn’t make him any less intimidating. “Watch yourself, Solomon,” the guard warned. 'Don’t give me an excuse to-” He stopped himself and regained his composure. “I don’t care what you do, but when you put a Vantha girl’s life in danger, it becomes my business. If you get hurt, I don’t care, but if she got hurt, I’d make sure you suffered for it. You can be sure Padrin will hear about this.” The Vantha guard let Solemn go and stepped back, dismissing them with a twitch of his head. “You can be on your way.” Katrinaria took Solemn’s hand with a devious smile and began to lead him away. Reaching into her pocket, she stopped him and turned back toward the bear. Once again whispering loud enough for everyone to hear, she held out something and put it in the Kelvic man’s hand. “For the fish breath.” Taking Solemn’s hand again, she led him away. On the still air, Solemn smelled the scent of mint. He didn’t know where she had bought it, but what he did know was that it was not a coincidence that she had the mint on hand. She had been planning this. She really was a monstrous little brat, but she was so sly about it that nobody caught on. Looking over his shoulder, Solemn saw the Kelvic man popping the mint leaf quickly into his mouth as his Vantha partner tried to reassure him that his breath was fine. Solemn shook his head and returned his attention to where he was walking. He quickly became distracted by thoughts of what would happen to him if the guards did tell Padrin. Katrinaria noticed his concern. “Don’t worry, Sol. Pa’ll never know. The Ice Watch is all bark and no bite.” He forced a smile, but he wasn’t so sure. His main concern was how Padrin would react if he did hear of their escapade. The one thing Solemn feared most was being sent away again. He loved this home as much as he had any of the others, and the pain of losing a home again would be more than he could take. But Katrinaria took his hand, and her banter about her perspective on the climb soon caused Solemn to forget that he was afraid. They made their way slowly back to Frostfawn and headed for home. Padrin was waiting outside the door of their arvinta when the two climbers returned. His normally emotionless face had a hint of something on it, annoyance or anger, but it was so subtle Solemn couldn’t tell. Somehow, the Ice Watch had beat them here. “He knows,” Katrinaria whispered to Solemn when she saw her father waiting. “It was nice knowing you, Sol. You’re so dead.” She beamed a smile at her father. “Hello, Pa. You’ll never believe where we were today.” “Oh, I believe it, because I’ve already heard.” He gently pushed her through the door. “Go get ready for dinner. I need to speak to Sol.” Katrinaria slipped inside and mouthed to Solemn over her shoulder. “So dead.” She disappeared into the home, and Padrin looked Solemn in the eyes. Ashamed, Solemn threw his gaze to the ground. An experienced expert at fatherhood, Padrin let the silence linger for a while. Finally, he broke it. “That was foolish.” “I know.” Solemn still would not meet the man’s eyes. “Then, why did you do it?” “I thought it would make her happy.” “It did,” Padrin said, then paused. “But she could have been seriously hurt. Was it worth it?” Solemn waited before answering. His answer, he knew, should be respectful and honest; this house deserved that much from him. He spoke when he finally had an answer. “You should have seen her eyes.” Padrin understood and smiled. “I haven’t seen her that happy in a while.” Solemn nodded and looked up, meeting the man’s eyes for the first time since the conversation had started. Padrin’s smile stayed for a moment more, and he gestured Solemn into the house. “Happy birthday, Sol. I’ve got a special dinner cooked up for us.” That night, Solemn enjoyed the humble meal as if it were a dinner for Morwen herself. This may not have been his family, but they considered him a friend dearer than any other. And for him, for now, that was enough. Tonight, he would dream of lullabies.

[Hwyn]

Grades

Player Name: Solemn Warborn

Exp Received

Mushing 1
Animal husbandry 2
Climbing 3
Endurance 2
Observation 3
Socialization 3
Stealth 1

Lores
Katrinaria: wise beyond her years.
Hibernia: A loved one beyond approach.
Padrin: Family and friend.
Animal Husbandry: Group dynamics
Animal husbandry: The dangers of wild game.
Climbing: sometimes you have to go back to go forward.

Notes:
Oh my goodness you've written the most lovable huggable bear eveeeer. I really enjoyed the read and love the family dynamics you've developed

Good Job!

Credit to Shimoje, the bestest buddy