Not our last embrace [Anira/possibly Astian?]

[Arethar of Dheynor]

OOC: This is a past thread, set in the time when Arethar leaves for the elites.

AEGARN AND ALANA IV

The young boy was looking outside of the window, the great Baraf mountains haunting as always. He had reached his thirteenth year, he would have to join the elites. It had been his choice, and deep inside, he hated himself for it. He didn't want to go, he didn't want to leave his family behind. He was afraid.

He had heard about the dangers of the Barafs, and the elite training. He wasn't strong like his ancestors. He wasn't Aranion, Elegast, the Emperor. He was just Arethar, merely a boy that was just messing with things way to deep and dangerous for him.

He was going to die.

A woman made her way to him and knelt behind him. "Arethar... What is wrong?"

The boy turned around, his long blonde hair blocking his vision for a second, before he furiously pulled them away from his eyes. "No... Nothing. No problem, whatsoever." the boy said, trying to sound confident but failing miserably.

His mother laughed. "Arethar... You can tell me. I won't tell anyone."

The boy looked at his mother, and suddenly he was trying to hold back tears. "Don't tell father, he'll think I am weak."

"Arethar," his mother said, obviously unhappy, "your father loves you, he doesn't think you are weak. What is it?"

The boy looked around, and then his next words came as a whisper. "I... I am afraid."

His mother smiled and gently laid a hand on his cheek. "So do all who are not weak. Fear is not a weakness, Arethar. Live with it, and fight it."

The boy didn't seem to be convinced. His mother seemed to understand. "Look at the mirror."

The boy turned around, and looked at his own reflection. He was wearing a bright black armor, and a silver cape, the silver sun on the armor's chestplate. "I only see myself."

"What I do see is an elite soldier of Dheynor, not just a boy. I see Arethar of Dheynor, protector of this city and his family. I see my own son, and I can't be prouder."

His father entered the room, and made his way to him. "Ready to go?"

The boy shook his head. "Not yet. Just a few more minutes." He looked at the Oathkeeper, which was laying on the bed.

"Not yet." His mother said, and rose to her full height.

That was when the door opened.

[Anira of Dheynor]

[/color][/i] The young blonde Princess mentally stated before breaking out into a run, holding her silver dress skirt up so she wouldn't trip. "Princess, it is not proper for a Lady to run!" Stopping and turning around with her hands on her small hips as if she were a grown woman, she poked her tongue at the Nanny. "It's not proper for a woman to shout either!"[/b] And with that being said, she continued running.

Once she got to Arethar's room, she pushed down the door to see her parents there with her brother. A couple tears streamed down her cheeks as Anira sprinted to him and embracing him. "Brother, you can't go!"[/b] She begged with the pout that their Father always fall for. Seven Hells, her brothers would fall for it. Looking up at him since she was a tad shorter, her blue eyes were lighter now that she was crying.

"I don't want you to go! You are better at teaching me Swordplay then Astian."[/b] She told him, poking fun at her younger brother even though he wasn't not in the room.[/ul]

[Arethar of Dheynor]

Everyone in the room turned to look at Anira's arrival, as she sprinted towards Arethar. "Anira!" their father exclaimed, as she started to run towards Arethar. The floors had always been slippery, he obviously didn't want his own daughter to fall and get hurt. Alana gave his a small pinch to the shoulder. "Let them be." she whispered, as she glared, quite playfully at her husband.

In the meantime, Arethar was getting suffocated by his sister. "Oh..." he managed to exclaim, as his sister hugged him. For a second, he was sure that he was going to die. This armor was too tight, and too heavy... He hugged his sister back, lightly, for a brief second, before his arms tightened around her. As much as they could, the amor was getting in the way. "I... I can't. I said I would, and I must honor my word." he managed to say, trying not to look at his sister's face. Her famous pouts would not work with him today.

Not after what his mother had said.

He looked at his sister and kissed her forehead. "I don't want you to cry about me. I will be back in no time, I swear. And I will bring you a great sword for your birthday, I promise." he said, and wiped away her tears.

He had to laugh when his sister talked about Astian. "Anira, be nice with your brother." their father said, as he started to talk with his wife about the senate. "When I'll be back, I'll teach you more things. You will be the fiercest lady of Dheynor." he smiled and whispered in her ear "You're already better than Astian. Just don't beat him all the time, let him win every once in a week."

He winked and kissed her cheek, trying to hide the tears from his eyes.

"You said that you would go with him!" his mother whispered, quite forcefully at her husband.

"Lana, he must take this journey alone!"

"He is your son, you know how treacherous the climb is!"

"He must do this alone."

Arethar gulped, and kept smiling at his sister. No need to show her how afraid he was.

Just keep smiling, fight your fear, and get done with it. Don't make her cry.

[Astian of Dheynor]

A young boy sat alone on the stone floor of one of the many corridors in his home. His fingers traced along the wall as if he were writing on a piece of parchment. "ASTIAN!" A voice called, echoing off of the walls and traveling down the hall. The young boy turned his head in response to his name, but his faced remained expressionless as his nurse ran down towards him. "There you are! I have been looking for you all over the place!" She exclaimed kneeling down beside him. "What are you doing?"

Astian was small for his age. He looked more like a boy of six years rather than the boy of nine that he was. "Just sitting." He said, his head turning back to the wall. "Well that doesn't seem that fun." She replied. Astian's nurse was named Elsie. She had helped care for him since he was a babe. He loved her quite a lot and never minded doing what she asked of him.

Astian always tried to be good. He usually behaved and he practiced hard to learn his letters and swordsmanship. The problem was he had a hard time grasping those things. His big brother Arethar was a much better swordsman. Even Astian's sister could best him most times. They were older however, and more experienced. While he didn't feel bad for defeat he felt bad by the outcome. His father wasn't too happy with his progress and sometimes others made fun of him for it. One of the stable boys had poked fun at him after he had tripped holding a wooden practice sword. Astian had felt it wasn't fair and with a good whack on the head the stable boy went silent for the remainder of the day.

"Arethar is leaving." Astian said softly. Astian had known for a while that his brother would soon be off to the mountains to complete his training. The thing was, he didn't know how he felt about it. He knew he would miss his brother, but Arethar would be trained by the best. Astian wanted the best for his brother. Besides Anira would still be around. Maybe she could help him practice?

Elsie wrapped her arms around the little lad, "Don't you think you should see him before he leaves?" She asked him. Astian nodded. People could take Astian for a bit of a wuss. He was nine years old and still hugged his nanny. It wasn't that he wasn't brave, he simply liked it. Astian was a bit of a mother's boy.

Astian stood up, "I can go find him myself." He said. Astian had been trying to be more independent recently, he was growing up after all. "Alright," Elsie said, "Don't forget about your lesson today." She continued after he had begun walking down the corridor.

Astian knew his home like the back of his hand. It wasn't long before he came to his brother's quarters. He quietly peeked through the doorway in time to hear his siblings' exchange about him. It hurt him to hear them say that, but he wasn't going to show it. He didn't want his father to think him weak, not with Arethar going off on a brave journey. He took a few steps in through the doorway, not knowing quite what to say. Astian heard his parents and he thought that Arethar probably had too. He walked up to his older brother, "You can do it Arethar." Astian said to him, "You are smart and strong and climb will make you even better." Astian flashed a small smile at Anira before looking down at his feet.

[Anira of Dheynor]

[/b] That made her grin as he wiped away the tears from her cheeks. "Finally, a real sword!"[/b] She squealed with glee, she didn't like using being allowed to use those wooden swords. The only danger they caused were for her to get splinters.

Arethar whispered in her ear, telling her to let Astian win once every week and she giggled. "I promise as long as you promise to be back for my birthday. I would hate for you to miss it. Father said that Astian and I could try our hand at Archery and shoot at apples on top of our heads."[/b] Being a little bit of a trickster, she was only teasing about that. She never really liked Archery, only because with her magic she could easily take some rocks and make them sharp before quickly aiming them at someone and taking the shot.

She received the kiss on her cheek as she overheard her parents whispering to themselves. 'Arethar is strong, he can handle it.'[/i] Anira thought, knowing that he was. It would probably be her that would crumble under the pressure. Hearing another voice in the room, the young princess turned around to see her younger brother Astian there and returned the smile before standing by him and gazing at the eldest sibling. "Astian is right, out of us three, you are by far the strongest. We have faith in you."[/b][/ul]

[Arethar of Dheynor]

Arethar laughed at his sister's glee. "Yes, a real sword. By that time, you know how to use it." he said, and smiled. Wooden swords were much different than real swords. He had learned that the hard way, he still had bruises to prove it. He had also learned to be patient, and not rush in a fight. Apparently, all those lessons would prove very valuable during the climb, but Arethar failed to see exactly how.

"Archery? I can't believe that, father would have never allowed you two to get in any kind of danger, let alone shoot arrows at each other's heads!" Arethar exclaimed, and for a second he turned to look at his father, the man giving him a look of uncertainty. "I fell for it again, didn't I?" he said, and smiled, as he turned to Anira. "How many times do I have to tell you not to lie to me?"

Then, Astian entered the room, and as he spoke, Arethar embraced him. "Get better with the sword brother." he whispered, before finishing his sentence. "Protect this family while I'm gone. It is your duty now."

He allowed Astian to breathe and looked at them both. "I am only strong, because you make me strong. I can't have any kind of strength without you two." He kissed both their foreheads, and patted his brother's shoulder.

"Arethar."

He turned around to face his father. "It is time, son. We must all go to the courtyard."

"Courtyard. Fine. I suppose I must go there first?"

"Yes. Pick a horse with the rest of the recruits. We will all be there soon enough."

He took a few steps towards the door, and with one last smile, he went outside, only to start running in order to hide his tears. He had reached the courtyard in no time, trying to rid his face of his tears.

"Arethar of Dheynor, reporting for duty." he managed to say, after a little bit. The man in front of him was three times his size. "Pick a sword, son, and then a horse."

The boy grabbed a bastard sword and moved towards a black steed. He climbed on its back, and put the sword around his belt. Crowd had gathered to see the climb of the elites, and in front of everyone, his family. His mother was trying to hide her tears, his father smiled even though Arethar could tell that he was afraid. And then, there were his siblings.

[Astian of Dheynor]

It was his duty now. Astian listened to his brother's words intently. He could do it. Or at least he though he could...

Astian followed as his brother left the room. He stood beside his mother while they watched while Arethar mounted a black horse, set to ride off towards his future. Astian had always looked up to Arethar. Arethar was older, more skilled, smarter and probably had more qualities of a leader as well. The thing was, however, Astian did not aspire to be like his older brother. He wanted others to be proud of him, however he wanted that pride to come for his own deeds. Astian wanted to be liked for himself, even if it wasn't the ideal person to be.

Astian stood tall and held a small smile on his face as he watched Arethar. That would hopefully be him one day. All he needed was time.

OOC: Short and kinda sweet :/

[Anira of Dheynor]

[/i] After acting like she was thinking for a moment, she perked up. "Ninety nine times so with the next time being one hundred, I promise to listen after that."[/b] She was smart when she wanted to be. Mostly with her brothers though since she knew better then to towards her parents. She had respect for them.

It was time for him to join the others. Biting her bottom lip, fighting back tears everyone followed Arethar and watched him mount his horse. Anira stood next to her younger brother and her mother, staring. Inside she was screaming for him to stay. Mainly because she didn't like violence and didn't want him to get hurt while in the mountains. Sadly, she was only a girl and would be missing the fire trick he would do with his magic and sword. And that would be something that she will always remember.[/ul]

[Arethar of Dheynor]

The Elites had started. He could spot the dragon riders already flying to the Baraf mountains, dragons of a variety of colours and sizes, casting a shade upon the elites on horses, the new recruits. He felt so small and meaningless.

He looked at his family as he pulled the reins lightly, the black steed obeying and making its way forward, a steady march that would take at least two hours. He gave them one last smile. "I guess I will see you later then." he said, as his mother threw a bunch of sun flowers at the horse's hooves, an ancient tradition that would ensure them a safe trip.

Or a safe return.

The horse moved forward, as the boy looked at the mountain, the place he would be calling home for the next year. All he knew was that the horse kept moving, and he was unable to register what was happening.

For the first time in his life, he was truly alone.

He looked back at the city that was now below him. "Goodbye..." he whispered, as the line moved forward, and a rider appeared right above them.

"Forget of your families, soldiers. In order to survive, you need to realize that your true family is the soldier next to you. We are a family, and we are keeping it that way."

Arethar didn't look back. He would never forget.