[Darkblade Fortress|Eyvind's Office] "Another day at the office...with Rainn"

[Eyvind Redbeard]

33rd Brightening of the Fifth Cycle of the Month of Imperos in the season of Autumn; Era II of the Celestine Mandate, Era XIV Post Fractum.

In one of the many Offices' doors one can read in a small metal plate: Cencoris Eyvind Redbeard Avornmagor Björnsson. This Office had no receptionist, just a small wooden box upon a small and tall table with a small opening where people could place letters and other documents.

The Office wasn't too rich showing the ways of the man who worked in it. There was a large desk with a few books on it. Behind it there is a chair similar to the two in front of it. Some bookcases containing books cover part of the walls while the wall behind the desk has a large map of the Aelyrian Empire and some of the surrounding lands stamped on it.

After leaving Arthalof in the stables of Darkblade Fortress, Eyvind travelled through the many corridors of the enormous castle on his way to his small office. The Vagaran's left hand was warm with the touch of another's hand, Rainn's. The child he had adopted and who he had named as his own daughter to the gate guards. It had somewhat surprised him at first but now he recognized that he, Eyvind Björnsson, was now a father, even if not by blood.

The beardless Redbeard opened the door to his office and entered. After closing the door behind him and placing both his helmet and his cloak on a chair, Eyvind turned to Rainn and held her with both his arms, raising her above his head and giving some steps in the direction of his own chair, behind the desk.

Leaning he gently placed the girl on the chair and as he removed his hands from her tickled her some. With a smile he stood to his seven feet and reached for an Officer's hat that had been left in the desk previously. Placing it in Rainn's head he bent his knees to be at her height.

"So tell me Rainn, do you like Taralon?"

[Rainn]

Rainn was sad to part from Arthalof but after Eyvind had promised the horse would be fine, she had nodded with a serious expression and taken his hand.

She had been looking around so much that looking in front of her hadn't been an option. If the huge man hadn't held her hand the child would have stumbled and fallen many times on the way to his office.

Her head was spinning when they finally were at his office. She knew that if she went out of the office door she would get instantly lost. Only one who knew where they were was Eyvind. So she had a plan: to not let him out of her sight. Being lost was something she was scared about more than anything else. After all, she had been recently found, she had no plan of being lost again any time soon.

She smiled when Eyvind lifted her up and stretched her hands as if to touch the ceiling of the office. When she was lowered to the chair and the man tickled her she giggled irresistably. The child was adorable, that much was certain.

Touching the hat on her head with both hands Rainn thought about the question that she had been asked. Then, as if she hadn't talked for a long time, she opened her mouth to form words. Nothing came out. Without looking in to Eyvind, being a bit scared that she had let him down somehow, she coughed and quickly tried again.

"Taralon..." she managed to say and then clearly thought about how to express what she felt. After a few seconds she took a deep breath and said:
"It is big, a lot of...doors..." then she smiled, now full of courage after being able to talk so much "is this where you work?" she asked then and looked at him. She took the hat off her head and pressed it to his. Then she turned around in the chair and looked at everything that there was in the small office.

[Eyvind Redbeard]

The red-haired man granted Rainn and a wide smile. So innocent, so full of potential. Shy, for sure, but she seemed smart, not to say adorable. Eyvind doubted he would love a daughter of his own blood more than he loved this child. So sudden had she appeared in his life and so sudden had she gained his favor and love.

"Yes, this is where I work Rainn. It is inside these walls that I organize armies and wars."

He said while still smiling. And now was the time to test her. The Vagaran wanted to know how wide her knowledge of Telath was.

"Do you see that map over there?"

He pointed the map on the wall opposite to the door, a map of the Aelyria Empire.

"Do you know what it represents?"

After she answered he pointed to the city of Taralon.

"And do you know what city is this?"

He sounded gentle in every question and he patiently waited for every answer.

[Rainn]

Rainn turned to look at the huge map on the wall. It had a lot of text on it and looked impressive. She nodded to Eyvind.
"It is the map of the world..." she said, innocently, as to her the world would be what she had seen on the map. After all, she had only a little concept of how big the world really could be.

When Eyvind pointed out one of the cities on the map she frowned a bit. Then she climbed down the chair and walked closer to the map to take a closer look.
She couldn't reach to the word itself, so she traced her finger in the air towards the name of the city.
"T...A...R...A..." she spelled and then burst out in a giggle.
"It's TARALON!" she screamed enthusiastically. She looked at him with a wide grin on her face.
"That is where we are now!" she said happily and began to spin around with her arms open wide.
"T...A...R...A...L...O...N!" she spelled while spinning around near the map.

[Eyvind Redbeard]

He laughed and clapped in answer to her spinnings and screams. It seemed Rainn knew how to read, perhaps it wouldn't be too hard the task of educating her to live among high society, that if he decided to live among it. The Vagaran had to decide now on the bases that he had to give his daughter so she could make her choice without being influenced by something. Eyvind wanted the blonde child to have a wide view of the world and a knowledge of how it worked before choosing a path for life, and this would be his titan's quest.

"Indeed this is Taralon. The capital city of the Imperial Province of Sheria, the Confederation of Sheria. If you look up you will see the Principality of Prime, where the capital city of the whole Empire rests in a large peninsula, the Imperial City of Aelyria Prime. I used to live there you know? The city's walls amazed me the first time I saw them and still amaze everytime I approach one of the gates. I learned how to travel in te always busy streets full of merchants and commoners. Maybe one day you will be able to visit Prime as well.

There is another city which uses the name of Prime, and that is the city of Nexus Prime in the Province of Arium, the United Arium Directorate. Nexus is the city where I found you, and is the capital of Arium too. As you can see you have visited and will still visit some very important cities."

He gave her a smile while pointing the city of Nexus Prime on the map.

[Rainn]

Rainn tilted her head and listened to Eyvind talking about the cities. She didn't understand it all, confederation and principality not exactly in her vocabulary, but she knew the basic idea in all his chatter. He hadn't talked much, so to her this was chatter.

Rainn liked his voice and how he looked when he smiled. He made her feel safe. She turned back towards the map and looked at it carefully. She almost looked like she was searching for something, though that was highly unlikely.
"S...e...a... SEA," she spelled and smiled to herself, "of D-i-a-n...DIANA!" she said flashing him another of her smiles.

"There is Sea of Diana." she said and pointed to the southern part of the map.
Then she looked at the map again and it looked like she might have recognized a city, because she could read its name with little effort.
"Port..A-lex-and-rya... PORT ALEXANDRYA!" she said and pointed at the map again.

Then she lost her interest in the map and began hopping around the room with one leg.

[Eyvind Redbeard]

Maybe he was being too boring to Rainn. After she pointed to the map again and read the name of Port Alexandrya she lost interest. What could Eyvind do now? Well, the child certainly had some ease in ready the name of the southern port city of Enamoria but was it just a coincidence or something more? Should he ask her about it? He couldn't know without asking right? Slowly he turned to his daughter and while mentally calling himself stupid made the question.

"Rainn, have you ever been in Port Alexandrya?"

The Vagaran had never been there but he surely knew the Sea of Diana. He had been in the Horizon in that fatidic journey.

[Rainn]

Rainn stopped to hop in one place when hearing his question. Up and down, up and down. She looked at him blankly and then shrugged.

Then she began to hop around again. Around and around...
After a while she got tired and stopped hopping. She walked to his chair and sat down. Then she yawned and looked at him with tired eyes. Suddenly she was close to falling asleep like children sometimes were. Without him having much time to react, she was asleep, like a candlelight that had been blown out.