Time Enough

[Call me J]

While Karuka was sent back wherever she needed to be, Jame and Damon reappeared in Eluriand. Jame smiled uneasily. Now that the danger was gone, everything suddenly seemed awkward. He had met his father, his father had destroyed the universe, and now everything was back to normal. The boy, now grown man, had never thought much about fate or purpose, but now he knew exactly how he was tied into the divine. The tie seemed almost stifling.

Jame wondered what his father would want now. He wondered if it mattered. The Damon Kaosi who had been there at the beginning of the adventure was no longer. The strapping young warrior had been replaced with an old man, his sleek green skin now old and wrinkled.

“I- I…” Jame began. Whatever his future was, he was going to need his father. He couldn’t leave without speaking with Damon. There was just too much on the table to be left unsaid.

However, before Jame could finish a sentence, Damon hugged him. “Take care of yourself,” Damon said. Jame could sense the love and pride within the older general’s voice. He didn’t know why, but everything suddenly seemed so completely peaceful, there in the middle of Eluriand. Somewhere nearby, the same bard that was singing when he had arrived was singing once again. The song was different, but eerily enough, it still carried the same tune.

“Sometimes it’s hard, drowning in pain.
We don’t know what to do,
But the winter cold fades into spring rain,
and we unveil a little of the truth.
Come July, will we still shiver in cold?
We’re all hollow, safe in the hands of God,
Come July, will we all feel old,
We’re all hollow, safe in the hands of God.”

“Do with yourself as you please,” Damon said to Jame. “Soon, you’ll have to come back to Raiaera. There are going to be things here that you’ll need to do. Someone is going to have to defend these people…”

“I can stay,” Jame offered helpfully.

“No don’t,” Damon replied, practically interrupting his son. “Right now, the politics here is poisonous. No one could survive it and end up the same. You need to be fresh, with your own ideals untainted by this place. When the time is ready, you’ll be here. You heard them, the universe unfolds according to its plan.”

Jame smiled, despite the gravity of the situation. The idea of returning to Raiaera to defend people he barely knew seemed a bit intimidating, but Jame supposed that he shouldn’t complain.

"Want to know how I know?" Damon asked with a smile. He gestured to the flamberge Jame had taken from a corrupted elf in their battles with the undead in Eluriand. "That weapon used to be mine..."

Jame looked at the weapon. He no longer wanted it. He may have to follow in his father's footsteps, but he was not yet willing to embrace it. However, there was little he could do. He was going to obey his father and enjoy what of his life was left before he was needed. As it stood, there was certainly cause to celebrate.

After all, for the first time in what seemed like forever, Jame could say with confidence that the world was not about to explode.