• Chapter Two
    Rodey Rodriguez

    Caillous watched as the man walked away, he didn't realize he was hyperventilating until he fainted. Everything went white for a minute, he felt himself go cold and weightless. But then, he felt warmth blowing against his face, it was warming up, the light began to subside, little pink flower petals were falling around him, he looked around but the light was fading too slow. A little pink petal landed on his shoulder, Caillous noticed it and observed it's beauty. His heart was warmed and he began to laugh as the petals continued to shower down upon him. The surroundings came into view, he noticed people dancing around, wearing elegant suits and dresses. It was the fourth moon festival! He looked up into the sky in astonishment as the crystal blue moon began to show itself. The sky began to darken and it began to cool down, the people were still dancing, he noticed off in the distance a familiar face...a face he only saw in paintings, a great hero by the name of Tigus sat back in a decorated chair, wearing a dark blue suit with this hair slicked back. It was then, Caillous noticed he was in the past. How was this possible? What could it mean? He pondered these questions as he looked around. When he looked down he noticed he was no longer in his peasant's clothing, he was in a black suit, with gold and a sword was strapped to his side. It was the sword his father gave him...
    "Rodey!" Tigus said as he rose from his seat and held open his arms in greeting towards someone off to the right. Caillous's eyes widened as he looked over to a short figure, he looked nervous as he looked around and accidentally bumped into people who looked down at him and smiled warmly, stepping aside to let him through.
    Caillous watched as Rodey made his way to the dark oak table that was placed on higher ground, steps led up to the table, other great heroes of Xedefend were up there. Ayon, a warrior who slayed a three-headed black dragon. Hent, the warrior who killed off the great demon, Qexec. Emmet, one who slayed an army of a thousand with only two hundred men. Sintu, the first man to master mind spells. There were too many to name but they were there, they were the only ones who existed in the beginning of the Elesian rise.
    Tigus was a master swordsman, bowman and mage. He was the most powerful and the most handsome. It was rumored that he slaughter a whole army. Caillous admired him, like his father...who was now walking up to Tigus. Behind Rodey were several others...they all had discolored eyes and elven features, save for a few. They were dressed up fancy, black and red, black and gold, black and silver. Rodey was dressed in black and red, he looked the best of all the males. "Ah! Rodey, Roan, Shakita, Geols, Skatz!" Tigus called their names as well as other names proudly. "So nice to see the house of Roderan attending our festival!" He said as he stood and walked out from behind the table. The other kids were silent. Caillous took time to pick out the familiar ones, Roan, he wore gold and black with a few medals on his suit. He stood upright and proud, his chin was up and his hair was pulled back in a knot.
    Rodey's was just straightened and let down, it fell to his shoulders and he had an almost native look to him, his ears stuck out from the sides. Caillous hid behind a woman who watched him as he observed the others. She seemed to giggle, he looked up to see that she was staring down at him. "Aww, honey, how cute...he has a crush on one of the Roderan girls!" She giggled more, this made Caillous's cheeks flush with red and heat, he was blushing because he did see that one of the girls, was very pretty.
    Next to that girl, was Shakita, Caillous picked her out easily because of her red eyes. He noticed that the family's children were more abundant, he hadn't even noticed that he had twelve uncles!
    "Tigus, father sends his regards..." Rodey said politely as he bowed, the other children followed suit.
    "Ah, Aon, how is the old man?" He asked with a chuckle.
    Rodey grinned at the humor and nodded. "He's doing well, he and mother are analyzing a few gems and scrolls. They are believed to come from the fourth moon." Rodey said calmly. Three feet tall...yet he still looked powerful. Tigus grinned and then turned and waved them over to a polished down teak table.
    "Please, children of Roderan, have a seat and feast with us!" He had a warm smile upon his face. Rodey nodded and made his way to the table, as well as his brothers and sisters.
    "Wow..." Caillous said to himself, noticing his family, he never knew that they were Roderan before Rodriguez...nor did he know that Geols and Skatz were his uncles. A chill was sent up his spine, he was learning so much now, it was all making sense...but some parts were blurry...where had the other siblings gone? When did Geols and Skatz become traitors? How was it possible that they existed so long, to make it a thousand years later and still look young? Caillous was dumbfounded and appalled. He moved in closer, the female was still rambling on about how adorable he was.
    "Rodey and I are practicing an advanced sword-fighting technique!" Shakita seemed to be rubbing it into Tigus's face. Tigus smiled broadly.
    "Really now?! I'd love to see a demonstration later!" He said excitedly while giving them an affectionate ruffle of their hair. Rodey chuckled and fixed his hair, Shakita seemed to giggle. She seemed stuck up but not stuck up at the same time, which would explain why Rodey never took a liking to her till recently.
    "Indeed, a demonstration would be in order later, somewhere along the way, they seemed to exclude me from their practices..." A small boy said, he had large circular glasses and he looked intelligent, he even ate properly and wiped his mouth after eating something.
    Rodey smiled and looked back at him then at Tigus. "Yeah, Little Owl here is coordinating our moves." He said as he threw the kid a thumbs up with a grin. The kid smiled proudly as Tigus slapped his back playfully.
    "Atta boy!" He said enthusiastically as the boy was thrown into the table top. He laughed a little and looked up, his glasses were thrown off, so he picked them up and put them on with a proud smile. The other kids seemed too busy watching as whole roast duck and a pig came in, they were set down on the table, plates were placed in front of them, some of the kids licked their lips in anticipation to eat.
    "Courtesy of your people, children." Tigus said proudly, they weren't allowed to eat yet...taste testers came and took spoonfuls of food to make sure it wasn't poisoned. After a few minutes wait, they gave the all clear and the children dug in happily, tearing and cutting from the pig and ducks. They ate like pigs, Tigus seemed to chuckle and watched them, they couldn't eat like this in front of their father.
    Catching Caillous at the corner of his eye, Tigus waved him over and smiled. "Well, a warrior's child! How pleasant!" Tigus said, all the dancing stopped and people's eyes focused on Caillous. Tigus waved him over and offered a seat next to one of the Roderan boys. "Come, boy, now tell me...who's your father?" He asked as Caillous sat nervously.
    "Uh...I don't remember..." Caillous said as he looked at his hands. The pink flower petals had stopped falling, he didn't realize it till now. Tigus laughed and placed his hand on Caillous's shoulder.
    "Well, anyone who bares a noble symbol, is Welcome at the feasting tables!" Tigus announced as he handed Caillous a plate and silverware.
    "Th-thank you, master Tigus." Caillous said nervously as he began to serve himself. He noticed that the boy next to him was Roan. He chuckled and helped Caillous serve himself. "Pig-out while your father's not here..." He said in a friendly way. Caillous laughed to himself thinking, 'technically, my father is here...' he then began to eat, he wolfed down the ham and duck, taking short amounts of time to breathe.