“All great changes are preceded by chaos.” -Deepak Chopra
The rain preceded my arrival like an ill portent; in the north, in Casterlay, we’ve always called such weather Omen Rains. Of course, in the north, it was usually snow, not the warm rain that falls in Lithmore in the Spring.
The man in front of me stood at equal height, was far more muscular and looked as if he had been born in a furnace–when I knew him, he was a fair young lad that played with sticks and hated eating vegetables. Now, he was a grown man who had led armies, plotted in the highest courts of nobility and seen lands only the bold venture to.
“It’s been a while, Ammy.” I greeted. An understatement. He had been six, when I saw him last. Over two decades had passed, and ‘Ammy’ had grown into the fullness of his father’s power, and then found more to add to it. Suffice it to say, I was impressed.
He said nothing, but we embraced in that brotherly manner. Since the death of his father, I hadn’t even written to him, but the tales had reached me. His nearly being charged with heresy. Assigned as Admiral of the Fleet. Found dead–and found mysteriously alive, two years after. When they thought he had been found, I knew my chance to see him again had passed. Only, now he was alive and staring right back at me.
“I missed you, Uncle Darin.” were the words that came from him, as he stepped back. Little else needed saying, between men such as us. I had been pursuing my own livelihood for half of this man’s life, but it did not mean we weren’t family. In fact, we were almost the only family left, other than estranged relations flung far across the realm.
The rain kept falling, of course; weather never cooperated with Lassider men. It was a known fact, and it hadn’t stopped us once in the history of our House. I wiped my greasy bangs from my eyes and smiled. It had been a long, hard road to reach Lithmore, but well worth it, seeing my nephew here, before me.
‘Ammy’ beckoned me inside the House estate. “Come inside, Uncle. It’s high time we spoke, I think.” he said. Other than my shock that the little boy I knew from so long ago was now directing me as head of the House, requesting my input on serious matters, I also wanted to hear what my nephew might say, learn what kind of man he had become.
I heard it with my own ears. Saw it with my own eyes–we talked for hours, from everything from the Daravi war to the Knights Lithmorran, the Reeves and the Merchants to the affairs of Vandagan nobles. Slowly, but surely, the little boy who never wanted to grow up did just that, in my eyes. He became a competent leader, a skilled diplomat and a fair hand in combat, all in the span of a few hours.
And most of all, he became frightening. His father, my brother Erick, had never been this careful a planner, this skilled a player at the game of courts. I had to admit, the plans my nephew laid out were like none I’d heard in a long, long time. By the time we were through, I was glad he was on my side, for most certainly, I did not think I would last long against him in a battle of wits.
It was on that rainy afternoon that I realized just how much my nephew had changed. I’ve oft heard it said that there are no good changes, nor bad changes, only new changes–With that little boy we nicknamed ‘Ammy’, I’m not so sure I agree.
