The Fall of Vequera

Chapter thirty-one | Drystan

TW MENTIONS OF: SEX (Not heavily detailed)

LOCATION: EASTCLIFF, ELER

YEAR: 621 C.E

DRYSTAN WATCHED AS HIS BROTHER STORMED OUT OF THE DINING ROOM.

He understood his brother's frustration. Enzo and Koen would keep getting in trouble for their behavior but Koa could never truly release all of his frustration on them nor could Valia. The elders were strongly against kin slaying. There was an unspoken rule that Valia could not kill a Litinae while she was in Eler. Even though she came close with Enzo. He didn't wake for a few days while in the infirmary but Litinae could not die from burns. It would just take his body a while to heal them. His mother had bags under her eyes as she spoke to Mary and Valia about their trip to see the elders and the rules she would have to follow.

"You can not look them in the eyes. You always have to be on your knees when interacting with them because you are lesser than them." She listed the rest of them and Drystan looked at Valia who seemed to be glaring at the door. "Do not speak unless spoken to and do not talk over them," Drystan remembered his first time meeting the elders and a shiver ran through his body. Mary glanced at him with a sincere smile and he awkwardly smiled back.

He didn't speak to her much. Drystan had a habit of saying he would speak to Mary or even Valia and try to get to know them better but he always either forgot or his mind talked him out of it. He needed to talk to people around his age besides Corbin and Nyra. Calix didn't speak to him very much. Well, she didn't speak to anyone very much except if she needed to. Other than that, she didn't speak or she was barely around to speak to anyone. Before he could think about it fully, he said, "I'll come with."

His mother stared at him warily for a moment before nodding. Like she was weighing her options. He had not been to see them for years. "Drystan will help you understand the rules." His mother turned back to Valia. He noticed a certain softness she had in her eyes as she stared at Valia. It wasn't like before when his mother was tense and typically avoided Valia and had Koa deal with her. She seemed to care about her. Drystan's father opened the front door with Nyra behind him.

His eyes met with his wife's and he shook his head. He couldn't find Koa. Drystan leaned back in his chair. Nyra kissed their mother on the cheek before bowing her head. She left the room with Calix behind her, going to their room. His father sat down where Koa had been sitting.

"We will be going to see the elders in the morning, so could you make sure he's okay?" Malvolia tried to hide her worry for her son.

Drystan knew his mother loved all of them dearly. It was through her words and her actions that he knew. She never made them feel unloved or thought she didn't care about them. But at times, she was distant as she tried to shield them from the harshness of the outside world. He remembered overhearing a conversation with her and his father about her regretting ever sending Koa on assignments. Most of Eler had never been passed the black forest or out of Eler once in their lives.

Koa had a habit of running off when angered. He would be gone for days or even well over a week, if they couldn't find him. Wandering mostly but gone nonetheless. His brother had a big heart at times when it came to the people he cared about. He cared about Valia. And hearing what she had said angered him more than he probably lead on. Drystan sighed. His father turned to him with soft eyes. Eamon Crowe was a tender man. He had met their mother while traveling from the Pheceanan mountains. He had black specs in his eyes like Nyra. His father liked to explore. Going to places never touched by Litinae and some that have. During the dark ages, a lot of Litinae fled to other kingdoms and even to the free states. Amiana being one of them.