"Haaa!... Hm?" Having woken up from his dreams, he got up only to find his son missing. His brows immediately burrowed. He immediately took out his jacket went to set out to look for his missing son only to find him downstairs setting breakfast on the dining table.
"Up so early? The sun's barely out yet."
"Mmm... Well, I'm just kinda eager."
As a response, he ruffled his son's hair.
"Father, can you stop doing that?"
"Sorry, I can't help it." That's right, he couldn't help it. He felt that his son was cuter that way. A child should behave like a child. And, the way the soft hair just brushed against his rough hands just feels wonderful.
"Let's eat."
Both started eating. As he looked down on the breakfast his son cooked up, he couldn't help but remember the good life he had with his son. His name was Eryk Smith. He had taken a journey to experience the 'outside' beyond the walls of his hometown, his kingdom. He had to. He was 'qualified'. And from thereon, he met different races; the Elves of the west, the Beast people of the east, the Mer clan of the north. He met various experiences and wonders in the 'outside' but he decided to reside among the humans. He felt that closer to them except the few which is mostly the nobility. That's why he headed further in the outskirt of Khiston Kingdom.
Along the way, he found a scene of slaughter. Murder was everywhere. The place left nothing but a single life. When he picked up the child, at first, he decided to leave for the orphanage but when the child opened its eyes. He was dazzled by the light shown on his pair of beautiful eyes. He only had one thought, 'such a beautiful child will only get bullied in the orphanage.' He took it upon himself to raise the child and named it, Teodor. At first, it was troubling. He would get woken up by the constant crying and neediness of the child but as two years passed by Teodor quieted down as if he had control of his own emotions. At two years old, he never found Teodor crying once. Even if Teodor had fallen and hurt, he would simply stand up and go to him. Teodor would look up and tug the corner of his pants to grab his attention and say, 'Father. I have a wound.' Yes, words. Teodor learned fairly fast. Even at one year old, Teodor learned to walk on his own two feet alone.
Like the time he spent with Teodor went on, he noticed the difference of his son from other children borne by other human families. Teodor was just too mature for his age. He didn't know if his intelligence affected his emotional quotient, but he felt that was a bit bored of life and his surroundings. Despite that, he still felt the love Teodor had for him. He could only sigh of relief and sadness. He was worried that he would grow to be an indifferent person but everything changed when he taught him to read words. Because through the lessons and books, he had learned 'Magic'. From there, although the smile was always the same, Teodor couldn't hide the light hidden in his eyes. Yes, it was the same light he saw in Teodor's eyes when he first met him. Teodor had grown fond of the subject of 'Magic' unlike other children borne of those gift-given families.
Teodor vigorously learned the human language, Monos, within a week. Although writing could be further polished, Teodor could read any books hidden in his magic ring no matter the difficulty. Teodor would sometimes ask for opinions but after a few exchanges, he would thoroughly understand the context of the book. Teodor would learn and read from different books from history, magic, myths, folklore, and legends across the lands. It didn't matter if he was here or not. From sunrise to sunset, he would find Teodor with a book in hand and every day was a different cover. He was running out of books to give him so he decided to buy a few of them every lunar cycle.
Even if he wasn't asked, he was willing to give. He'd do everything for Teodor.
"Father, are you finished? Let me get that for you."
"Well, thank you, Little Sprout."