Erian's birth...

Daigan touched the manes of his horse as he allowed her to drink from a fountain. His company was relaxing on the courtyard. Or well, company. These were all sturdy, battle hardened men, but nobody knew. They were invisible to the common man living his very, boring, common life. Everyone was scattered around the place. Perhaps a few gathered together to share some words, yet it didn't seem like an organised bunch. Daigan felt the sun burning in his bare neck, he better not be having another sunburn when he went to bed tonight. He smiled. A young child was tugging his hauberk, and she asked him if he wanted to buy a flower. Daigan shrugged his slender shoulders, offering the child a few coppers. She held out a beautiful, golden coloured flower to him. He asked her what its name was, but she didn't know. What would it matter anyway? The information would just be useless to him. He pinned the flower to his saddle and reached for one of the saddlebags and unlaced it. He took out a small notebook, skipping page after page to find what he was looking for. ''They still frown upon me, for writing everything down..'' he thought to himself, but quickly grinned it away. ''Who cares, they answer to me, not the other way around.'' he reassured himself. His ears lock on a faint noise in the distance. What was it? He couldn't quite make it out from all the noise in the Courtyard. But this was different. He could clearly make out a different tone of voice in this yelling. This was yelling, right? Aye, it was. The sound came closer and closer, until he could clearly hear what it was. A man was pleading for help as he came rushing onto the courtyard. His shirt was entirely covered in blood. What happened to him? Was he attacked by brigands? Impossible, the patrols made sure that every brigand would keep his distance. Then what was this? Perhaps something else happened, something far worse. Quickly several guards kept the man at bay as the entire courtyard fell silent. Folk always seem to be attracted to such things. Was this lighting their lives up for only a few days? Perhaps they would share such a story at the dinner table. Their spouses would be hanging from their lips as they would hear about all the misery. He began to cry. A man, far in his thirties, was crying on a courtyard filled with people. Was he not thinking? He would be the laughing stock for days. They loved it. Daigan could see the joy in everyone’s eyes as they all came closer to hear everything he had to say. Daigan couldn't quite hear what the man had to say, but he could clearly hear the ''Oh's'' and the ''Ah's'' from everyone. This wasn't just something, this was big. But what was it.. A hand jerked Daigan back. His lieutenant, Barron, was standing in front of him now. What did he want? At a time like this? It better be important, Daigan thought. ''Sir, did you hear that? An entire village burned down..'' Barron said. Daigan frowned a little, shaking his head. ''Lieutenant, I didn't catch what he said.'' Daigan admitted. ''Elaborate, if you will.'' He asked. ''I'm sorry sir. The man claims that his village was attacked by brigands, and that he ran all the way back to here, seeking help. Some of the men agree with me on this sir, but we should help them. It will take quite some time until the Cavalry is amassed, and even longer before they're sent out to aid them'' Barron continued. ''Fine.'' Daigan said with a commanding tone. ''Gather the men, I'll await you all outside the gates.'' And Daigan hoisted himself in his saddle, taking a brief glance at the flower before hitting her in the flanks and off he went, out the gates. It didn't take more than a minute before his men would be coming out the gates one by one. Thirty in total. He knew them all, but never got close. They honoured this. They honoured Daigan for his leadership. ''Apparently, some of you are under the impression we should help that man and his people.'' Daigan barked out. ''I do not have to explain to you all what our sole purpose is.'' He continued. ''But, alas, I seem to have a good heart and we weren't exactly doing something important, now were we?'' He said with a hint of amusement in his voice. He waved his hand dismissively for a moment, as if to clear the goofing around. ''Whether or not some of you disagree on this, it remains my decision where we go or what we do. So adjust your straps whilst you can, for I do not know what we will end up in when we reach his village. It's not far from here, and I am sure Lieutenant Barron overheard the directions there.'' Daigan grinned to his officer. ''Ride out!'' Daigan commanded, hitting his horse in the flanks once more as they left Minas Tirith, the city growing smaller in the distance with each passing minute. They all remained silent. None of them questioned his motives, or his commands. He never let them down, nor would he now. Daigan could see the plumes of smoke in the distance. They were close now. He felt his horse slowing down a little, was she getting scared? In a reaction on her he hit her in the flanks once more. Slowing down could mean them getting there too late. ''We're almost there! If there is anyone, or anything, posing a danger, you defend yourself with any means, to any ends!'' He yelled to his men. They all knew this already, but somehow Daigan felt he had to say this. They reached the first houses. Besides the crackling of the fire, there was not a sound. It was silent. Did everyone die? Were they too late? It wouldn't matter. This was not their fault. Something caught Daigan's attention. All his men were scattered around the village, and only Barron and two other of his men followed their commander. ''A house of stone?'' Daigan asked. None of his men replied, the answer was clear. ''Someone of wealth must have lived here.. Perhaps the Mayor?'' He said. He shook his head, it didn't matter. It was the only house left standing, and the fire had not caught up with it. He went for the door, pushing it lightly to see if it was opened. A soft squeak was heard, and the door opened just a little. Enough for Daigan to look inside, and to see the lifeless body of someone clutching a knife on the floor. He and his men entered the room. It was quiet, but a mess. There were three bodies scattered on the floor. They all died of grave wounds. If they even had came in time, to find them still alive, they could've done nothing to help them. A loud voice broke the silence. One of his men yelled for back up. Daigan rushed outside with his men, only to find a brigand standing there quite surprised to find someone left alive in this place. The man dropped all his stolen ware to the ground and reached for a sword sheathed on his hip, yet it was too late. Daigan could see the arrow sticking out of the man's forehead, his body dropped to the ground just as fast as the stolen ware had. Silence took its place once more. No one said a word. It was clear; brigands had came in here to pillage the place, not giving a damn about the lives of innocent people as they slaughtered them calmly. Daigan laid his eyes on the youngest of his men. Athunor was his name. He stood there, only seventeen summers young. Daigan was first reluctant to add the boy to his men, what good could a boy, not even out of his teens, do for the company? But Athunor proved himself. He defeated Barron in a sparring contest, with fairly ease. Needless to say, Barron wasn't exactly happy the weeks following after, but proud nonetheless. The boy seemed unchanged of what happened before him and the gruesome acts that had taken place here didn't even bother him. He was ruthless for his age; the boy was excellent for his company. A short click with his fingers indicated to all his men that they were to continue their search. Perhaps there were survivors left, but chances were slim. Daigan reentered the previous house, and froze in his tracks. Was that softy crying he heard? It couldn't be. All these people were dead. But no, he heard it more clearly now. It came from the other room. Daigan rushed for the other room, throwing his shoulder against the door as it burst open. There was no one here, but he was sure he heard a noise before! And there it was again, though more intense. It sounded child like. He slowly walked up to the closet in the back and grabbed the knobs attached to it. He took a deep breath and opened the doors a little. ''This can't be true..'' Daigan's face showed surprise and unbelief. ''Grab some blankets!'' Daigan suddenly commanded his men. ''How could this be?'' He questioned himself. ''Someone must've noticed it.. Him.. Her.. I don't know..'' He mumbled. One of his men came rushing back, clutching several olive green blankets in his arms as Daigan reached out for one and unfolded it. ''Come here little one..'' He said in a surprisingly low and caring voice. He reached down for this very young child, not older than a few months, and slowly wrapped the blanket around the child for comfort. Daigan could see the tears running down the cheeks of the child and quickly wiped them away. ''It's alright now.. You're safe..'' as he walked outside with the child. The sun was going down. ''Is the village clear?'' He asked his lieutenant. ''Aye sir, not a single soul left alive.'' Barron concluded. ''Apart from the thief we just killed, there is no one to be found of the attackers.'' Barron added. ''Alright. Lieutenant, appoint one of the Sergeants to lead a squad and have them follow the trail.. We did find a trail, right Lieutenant?'' Daigan asked with a frown on his face as he was rocking the child slowly in his arms. Barron quickly nodded his head and said ''Aye sir, there are several tracks leading out of the village to the west. They appear to be of horses.'' as he pointed in the direction. Daigan nodded his head once. ''Lieutenant, you and Athunor will accompany me back to Minas Tirith. The rest of you who are not assigned with the sergeant will stay here and bury the dead, they deserve as much.'' He said. All of his men agreed upon his words and shortly after a small squad of his men rode out to pursue the brigands. ''Let's mount up and head home.'' Daigan sighed. The child had ceased his tears and fell asleep, he must've been crying for a very long time before they arrived there and now he was tired. Daigan wouldn't find out he was carrying a boy before arriving back in Minas Tirith. He handed Athunor the child before grabbing his saddle and pulling himself into it. ''Thanks lad.'' He said as he reached out for the child. Athunor remained silent and just nodded his head before mounting up himself. ''Lead the way Lieutenant..'' Daigan ordered as they rode out towards Minas Tirith. After a long ride the faint features of Minas Tirith were growing larger and more familiar. They were finally home and Daigan could bring the boy to a healer shortly. ''Lieutenant, when we arrive, we will say nothing about the child. Is that understood?'' Daigan asked. ''Aye sir. But sir, if I may, what will you do with the child?'' Barron asked. ''I am not sure yet, Lieutenant, but for now I will make sure he is taken care of.'' Daigan said. The lieutenant agreed and continued his path back home. ''Will the gates still open at this time of night?'' Athunor asked Daigan. ''I am not sure, Athunor, but by the looks of it they only formed a cavalry just now.'' Daigan said whilst nodding to the small company of horsemen, standing near the gate. Daigan knew the man sitting in the saddle, talking to his men like a leader. It was Kearn. Apparently they found it important enough to suit up more of ''Them'' in traditional Gondorian armour, and send them after Daigan's unit. ''You're late..'' Daigan said with a mischievous grin on his face. Kearn jerked his head back, knowing that tone of voice all too well. ''I am never late, boy, you're just early.'' Kearn smirked back. ''Well, it has all been taken care of, so whether or not I am early, you're not needed anymore.'' Daigan said with a hint of amusement in his tone. ''Fine by me. Get out of this silly armour men! We're heading back to the Inn!'' Kearn laughed and dismissed his men with a wave of his hand as they all laughed and headed back into the city. ''Join them Lieutenant, but be back here when the men come back.'' Daigan ordered Barron. ''Aye aye sir! As you command!'' And Barron strolled towards the gates with the rope of his horse clutched in his gloved hands. Athunor looked at Daigan questioningly, wondering why he didn't send him with the lieutenant. ''Your face betrays your thoughts and words to come, Athunor. I am keeping you here because I wish that you and Kearn would follow me to my home, we have much to discuss.'' Daigan said, smiling towards the lad. Athunor grinned and shrugged his shoulders. ''Alright sir.'' ''Now what is that? Some nice presents you found back there?'' Kearn asked, looking questioningly towards the child Daigan was carrying, all wrapped up in a blanket. ''This? A present? If you would like to call it that, sure..'' And unwrapped the blanket from his face, showing Kearn the child. Kearn fell silent, his face turned pale as he met the child’s eyes. ''That... that is a...'' Kearn stuttered on his words. ''A child, yes, and it was left in a closet.'' Daigan added. ''Strike me with lightening and roast me over a fire..'' Kearn said in disbelief. ''What are you going to do with it?... Or well, with her. It's a lass, right?'' ''For all I know it could be a boy, so I shouldn't get your hopes up about having a granddaughter, old man.'' Daigan smirked. ''Granddaughter? You're keeping it? You're out of your mind Daigan! The child isn't yours, and how are you going to take care of it?! Raise it yourself?!'' Kearn almost yelled. ''Who else? I can't bring it to some orphanage! I won't have it brought up there! It never did me any good..'' Daigan said in response to Kearn. ''Son, how are you going to combine this with your work? With your life? You're still young, you should enjoy life.. Not being kept indoors..'' Kearn had lowered his voice, this was of no concern to anyone else but them. ''I've been thinking about slowing down for quite a few weeks now. This is a perfect reason to do so.'' Daigan said. ''Slow down? Daigan my boy, you're not old like me. It is I that should be thinking of slowing down. I've almost seen fifty summers, and yet I keep doing this... work... job... however you would like to call it.'' Kearn said. ''But you, you are still so young. You have only seen twenty summers, Daigan. I have seen you grow into the man you are today.. The leader you are now..'' Kearn continued. ''We will discuss this matter when we arrive home, Kearn. For now the child needs to be brought to bed and taken care of.'' Daigan said with a determined voice. Kearn nodded and would lead them through the sixth gate, to Daigan's mansion. Athunor had remained silent during the time they spent on the horse to the house and would remain silent until they went inside. ''Fine.'' Kearn said. ''You're officially an idiot.'' he added. ''All from your teachings.'' Daigan said jestingly. ''Sure blame me, like they all do'' And Kearn smirked, waving his hand as he strolled down to one of the cabinets and took out a bottle of brandy. ''At least let's drink on it.'' He said. ''Pour me a glass; I will first take care of the child..'' And Daigan headed upstairs. He laid the boy down on the silken sheets of his bed and uncovered him from the blanket entirely. ''I am going to need some help with you little one..'' Suddenly the door opened just a crack and Athunor asked in a low voice ''Can we come in?'' ''You didn't bring the old man up here with his brandy, right?'' Daigan frowned and turned to face the door. A soft chuckle was heard from behind it, but not of Athunor. ''I assure you my lord Hanteer, I am neither old nor drinking brandy'' a woman's voice said. ''Lisanne? Is that you?'' Daigan asked. The door opened entirely and Athunor and Lisanne stepped into the dim light of a candle. ''I thought I'd bring her here, seeing as she's far more capable of handling this than us, sir.'' Athunor said. ''Fine, Athunor. You were right to bring her here.'' Daigan said. Lisanne was Athunor's lover. They married quite young and lived together ever since. She was a lovely young lass, a bit younger than Athunor, and was always the one cheering everyone up. Daigan had never seen her with a frown or a pout and it never failed to amaze him how she could keep up all the smiling. Perhaps the smile just froze one day and she was never able to remove it from her face ever since. Lisanne walked closer to the bed and offered Daigan a gentle smile in passing. She looked down on the child and broke out into a bright smile. ''Ooh.. He's lovely..'' She said. ''Or she, for that matter..'' Daigan chuckled softly. ''You don't know yet? Well, let me see.'' And Lisanne checked before chuckling under her breath. ''As I said, he's lovely.'' She laughed under her breath, covering her mouth with her left hand. ''So he's a boy..'' Daigan smiled as he looked down on him. ''Do you have anything he can wear? We can't keep him in this old rag.'' Daigan continued, motioning to the worn out clothes the child was wearing. If his parents were even alive, they clearly were not wealthy. Poor to say the least. ''I brought a few clothes of my young brother. He has only seen one summer yet. They should be a little big for this little one, but alright for now.'' Lisanne smiled. ''I'll leave you alone with him then. If there is anything you need, I will be downstairs.. Don't hesitate to ask..'' Daigan said. ''Of course master Hanteer. Though perhaps waking up Alfred would be wise?'' Lisanne asked. Alfred was the family butler and he had been so for many years. The man hailed from Brea, which he left at a very young age with his parents. He was a good friend to Daigan and more or less the only family member he had left, next to Kearn. In fact, Alfred and Kearn didn't vary a lot from each other. Between their ages was perhaps a summer or two, in favour of Kearn being the younger one, and nothing more. Though Alfred was more of the gentle kind of heart, where as Kearn was the true born Rohirric. He was a brute, a kind brute, but a brute nonetheless. But the two seemed to get along quite nicely and they could stay up hours at a night discussing all matters of things. Daigan enjoyed watching them as they did so, but it never failed to amaze him how Kearn would just end up gobbling down the bottle of brandy, and Alfred cleaning out an entire basket of biscuits. Another fun fact not a lot of people knew about Alfred. He would enjoy baking biscuits after dinner and share them with all the late visitors. Mostly those included Daigan's officers and Athunor stopping by for a friendly chat, or some word of advice. Needles to say, Kearn was there as much as he could, checking every cabinet for some alcoholic beverage. Before Daigan could even turn to head out the door, Alfred already cleared his throat. ''Master Daigan, what in the Stewards name is going on here at this time of night?'' He asked in surprise. Daigan grinned at his friend and said ''Well, see for yourself Alfred..'' And turned back to face the young boy. ''See what, master Daigan?'' Alfred asked and walked closely to observe the son. ''Oh my.. By the looks of it, it isn't yours Miss Lisanne. Did you hide a woman here all this time, master Daigan?'' Alfred asked in amusement. ''Alfred, me? A woman? If so, wouldn't you have found out before? It is quite hard to keep anything a secret in this house.'' Daigan chuckled. ''Ah, you're right master Daigan. But do tell me, where did you acquire this young boy?'' Alfred asked. ''Follow me downstairs Alfred, I'll tell you all about it over a glass of Brandy.'' Daigan said and took Alfred and Athunor with him downstairs to tell Alfred his venture. After a while Lisanne walked down the stairs and entered the main room. ''He's asleep once more and seems to be in excellent condition. He was nurtured not that long ago.'' Lisanne said. ''So he will be alright?'' Daigan asked. She nodded and went to sit down with the others before sighing in relief. ''Athunor told me a bit about how you found him, so there is no need to tell your story again.'' She grinned. ''Could I ask of you to help me take care of him, Lisanne? Of course, I will pay you for it..'' Daigan asked. ''You thought I was going to let you take care of the boy all by yourself? Ha! You wouldn't know how to cook a meal if I hadn't shown you that time Alfred was sick!'' She laughed softly. ''I'll take that as a yes then.'' Daigan smirked and took another sip of his drink. ''Please, you're all welcome to spend the night here. Athunor and Lisanne can take the west guest room and Kearn can make up a cot in the dog kennel'' Daigan chuckled under his breath. ''Oh come on Daigan, I won't make up a bed in the dog kennel for you, Alfred can do that!'' Kearn responded in jest. ''Leave me out of this, master Kearn!'' Alfred said. ''Fine fine, you can sleep in one of the other guest rooms. Just tidy it up when you wake up tomorrow morning! You're no longer a guest in this house; you're becoming a part of the furniture'' Daigan smirked. They all went to bed after finishing their drinks and little bites to eat. Alfred was bringing Athunor and Lisanne to their room as Daigan entered the young boy's. ''You're safe now.. No harm can fall upon you here.. Erian, master of the Hanteer mansion.'' Daigan whispered and leaned down to kiss the boy's forehead gently. He had a name now and he would be raised in the Hanteer family, for Daigan decided to keep him and one day tell him the truth. But for now, all that mattered was Erian's well being.