Beyond Chaos – A DiceRPG

Jirot coughed lightly, for that afternoon, she was no longer quite as hot, quite as sweaty, and though her throat hurt a little, it was more like a tickle. “Nano, I am sick, will you get sick too?”

“No,” Gangak assured.

“Babo was sick, and now I am sick, but you cannot get sick,” the girl said, reaching over to pat her greatmother’s knee tenderly. “If you are sick, I will bully babo so much.”

“You should bully babo even if I do not get sick.”

“Ah, of course,” the girl replied, nodding her head lightly, as though this was merely how life was.

“My Jigak…” Gangak rubbed the girl’s head gently, who sat upon the woman’s lap, one of the old woman’s arms wrapped around her as the girl slowly ate her porridge. 

“Nano, I can be Jirot and Jigak?”

“You are Jirot, but in my heart, you are Jigak.”

“In my heart, I am Jirot and Jigak.”

“Then, I am happy.”

“You are?” The girl asked, almost gasping, smiling so bright. “You must always be happy, nano! Daddy told me I must always make you happy, and to cuddle you all the time, and to be polite, but how can he say that, nano? I always make you happy, and cuddly you, and be polite, how can he say that?”

“It is because your father is sensible.”

Jirot paused, glancing up towards her greatmother questioningly, the porridge suspended upon the spoon, as though it were shocked by the old woman’s words. 

“Sometimes, your father is a fool, but sometimes, he is a genius,” Gangak said, planting a kiss upon the girl’s forehead. 

“Nano, sometimes you joke too much.” Jirot tutted, waiting to see how her greatmother would respond, before smirking mischievously. 

Gangak held the girl in close. “Do you know where your father is going?”

“Order of Black Mountain for ahm.”

“Yes,” the woman replied, her lips forming a wide smile, one that the girl would not understand. “Do you know where the Order is?”

“North of Aswadasad.”

“That is right. My greatdaughter, how can you be so smart?” Gangak brushed the girl’s hair gently.

“It is so troublesome to be this amazing,” Jirot agreed. “That is why I am sick.”

Gangak snorted, peppering her greatdaughter’s forehead. “You must be less amazing, for I do not like it when you are sick.”

“I am sorry, nano, I cannot do such a thing,” Jirot joked. 

Gangak smiled wider, pulling the girl closer to her chest, filling the girl with a deep warmth, before allowing her to return to her meal. “I was forced away in Aswadasad when I was younger, a little older than your father.”

“Hmph!” Jirot grumbled. “I do not like Aswadasad!”

“It was only the Orders of Aswadasad which forced me away, my Jigak,” Gangak said, brushing along the girl’s hair tenderly, reaching around to rub along her leaf shaped ear. “It was unfortunate timing for my arrival. Had I arrived the generation before or the generation after, the Gak family you see today would have looked so different. In your heart, you would have been Jigak and Jirot, not Jirot and Jigak.”

“It’s okay, nano, because daddy is here now,” Jirot said, the girl staring at her porridge, suddenly far more lucid. “Daddy is first place, so he will help all my papos and kakos and if he will not… I will tell mummy.”

The girl’s voice grew with such a darkness, even Gangak’s heart skipped a beat, the woman quickly peppering her greatdaughter’s head with kisses. “Do you not worry for your father? He is travelling the land that forced me away. There are many Orders with powerful warriors, especially that Order, the all female Order beside Arisa. Though it is officially considered the weakest because it is so small compared to the other Orders, which are also so small compared to the Aldish Orders, they possess two warriors who are Paragons, so we think.”

“Two Paragons?” Jirot thought. “Two Paragons…”

While Jirot pondered on her greatmother’s words, those at the Front Iyr continued their daily life, working the fields around the Front Iyr, though they worked half shifts, each spending most of their time at home while the Iyr educated them with numbers. The tattoos of those that taught them were familiar, each from the four families of the Directors of the United Kindom.

Rick glanced towards the others, taking a break from learning how to write. Anne remained alert, at attention, as she was personally taught by one of the Rot family, receiving personal training from one of the Family Elder’s grandchildren. Meanwhile, the other children of the business were also being taught, one teacher among a handful of children, who would then go on to teach them more personally after the general education. 

Fred panted for air, feeling the noonval sun bear down upon his bare skin, glistening with the sweat of effort. Thankfully, his sword’s magic was cool, so as the heat threatened to overwhelm him, he expended one of the charges, the chill bursting into the air, refreshing him. 

‘A sword fit for a Grand Duchess,’ Fred thought, eyeing up the blade, which was well made, a little plain, with some flourishes around the blade, especially the silver of the hilt. 

‘Slightly stronger than an Expert,’ Jurot had said, having beaten the young man viciously. 

Even with a Greater Enhanced sword, Fred couldn’t defeat the monster known as Jurot. That was the difference between himself, born as the son of a farmer, dreaming of glory, and those born of the Iyr, blanketed in glory.

‘Your natural talent is better than even Jaygak,’ Jurot had said, as though reading his mind. ‘You have reached the peak of your natural strength, now you must focus on gaining experience. Your way of fighting is similar to that of the Gak family. If you had been born in their family, they would have risen this generation even without Adam.’

Fred flushed red at the thought of the Iyrman’s compliment, before he returned back to swinging his magical sword. 

‘This sword is better than Life Blade,’ Jaygak had explained. ‘It is better to defeat your foe quickly, than it is to survive for a moment longer. If you were a Rage Dancer, Life Blade would have been better, but you and I fight the same, so it is better to beat our foe quickly.’

Fred hadn’t understood the look Jaygak had given him back then, but now, he understood. The Iyrman’s heart ached, for she would be unable to reach the heights he would be able to, all because she had been born with a sickness as a child. 

‘I need to grow stronger,’ Fred thought, recalling what had happened last year. ‘Next time, if something happens, I’ll fight too. No, next time, I’ll make sure nothing happens!’

While the hearts of the businessfolk grew heavier with every passing moment, Adam was busy tossing down a pouch of gold to pay for their stay at the inn, the inn with the tower with a rough dome painted orange, it had been a thirty minute walk, but thankfully, they rode through in their carriages. 

‘Fifteen silver per person per night?’ Adam thought, noting the inn wasn’t quite as modest as he had expected, far closer to a private room at a finer inn, like those which cost two gold nightly in Aldland, though perhaps not exactly as nice. 

“We shall stay here for a few days,” Dunes said to the innkeeper, placing down a bag of silver, raising his bottom two fingers. 

The innkeeper nodded her head, sending an order to the cook to make a proper, hearty feast for the group, as the Priest returned with the rest of his companions to settle down.

“This place smells good,” Adam whispered, already smelling the spices of the meal, glancing aside towards the musicians in the corner, who played upon their instruments lightly, not loud enough to disrupt their conversations. 

“Our land is full of spices, and spices from the Confederacy come all the way here, more easily than East Port and Gold Port.”

“How come?” Adam asked.

“We are closer.”

“Ah,” Adam reached up to cover his eyes in shame for asking such a stupid question. “Oh, you know, I noticed a bunch of buildings across the hills. They looked really different to all the tall buildings I saw, they had large domes. Are they mos-, uh, temples?”

“Temples,” Dunes confirmed. “Our temples are… a part of our life, greater than even in Aldland.”

“Hmm,” Adam replied, with a tone that implied he wasn’t sure if he liked that, but he didn’t mention it. “Actually, now that we’re here, we should drop a pouch of silver or something for Lady Arya.”

Dunes smiled. “Let us go later tonight, I will take you.”

“Nice.”

Kitool thought about how much gold and silver they still possessed, and after spending so much coin, they were running out of the metal. “Jurot, we must replenish the coins.”

“Okay.”

“I should order some wine,” Dunes said, having just remembered they were in Arisa, and as he raised a hand to gain the attention of a worker, one glanced his way, did a double take at his vestments, and quickly rushed up to help.

“Mo,” the young man called. 

“A bottle of Arisian Silver,” Dunes said, before glancing around at the rest of his companions. “Five.”

“Five?”

Dunes placed down a pouch of gold, which was enough to cover some of the price of the alcohol. “We will pay the total price before we leave.”

“Of course, Mo,” the worker said, hoping that was true, but the worker took the large pouch away. 

A few of the guests looked their way, but upon seeing the large number of Iyrmen, and the young Iyrman without her tattoos, their gazes fell away. 

Adam tensed up suddenly, the half elf smiling wide, glancing up towards the sky. “I see. Well, I guess if she says so, then I can’t. I love you, and I love our babies too, so please tell them!”

‘Did Ray Vonda…’

Adam sighed, reaching up to his forehead. “Dunes?”

“Yes?”

“It seems I cannot lose to even two Paragons at once,” Adam said. 

Dunes smiled, before he stared at the half elf in shock, Jurot and Kitool, and the other Iyrmen also glancing at him in shock too. 

How was it that Adam could make a joke like that when that Order, the only Order within Aswadasad that held two Paragons, was nearby? 

Even if she bullies us so much, doesn’t she also praise us so much too?