A thousand stories

With all the drama going on between his nieces and nephew, Erek had not been able to spend as much time with Oscar as he’d wanted to. But that would change right now. He’d planned something for just the two of them: a trip to the library. It was gigantic and filled with more books than you could possibly imagine and he knew Oscar would love it. Erek himself had always liked learning new things, but his son took that love to a whole new level. When Ere came back from a trip, he often brought a new book for the boy—though he was becoming a young man now; something he’d proven once again when they travelled to Norwyn and then to Ishgard. Where Oscar had always made a fuss on previous trips, now he’d shown none of that previous behaviour; Erek couldn’t be prouder of him for that. But enough thoughts for now. “Oscar, are you ready?” he asked when he arrived at the other’s room.

Insecurities kept rising inside of him. He wanted his father to be proud of him, truly proud. Though, his father always appeared to be proud, there was a part in him that wanted to truly impress his father. But how? He did carry his name, so theoretically speaking, his was his son. But Oscar knew better. But why now? Why did all those worries, he never used to have, start to grow now? He never doubted anything. But he was starting to be a man. And he wanted to be someone, he wanted to be impressive and respected, just like him. But Oscar didn’t have what his father had. Oscar had a brain and well, even that was something the boy managed to be insecure about. I mean, if only Oscar was his biological son. Then he might’ve been handsome as well. Oscar looked at himself once he was dressed. He touched his arm to check if any muscles had started to grow and then he heard his father’s voice. “Yes father, I’m ready!” He replied, turning towards the man. “So father, what’s the plan for today?” He asked curiously.

Oscar replied he was ready and so Erek stepped inside the room. His son turned towards him and asked what the plan for today was. “A walk through the city,” he answered. It would lead to a visit to Ishgard’s library, but he wanted to keep that a secret for now. He waited for Oscar to walk beside him before he led the way. “How are you enjoying the city so far?” he asked the young man. Erek had been in Ishgard so many times already that it took effort for him to see the beauty of the city, but Oscar hadn’t been outside of Sleetspire very often.

Not yet had the boy visited many places in the great city that was Ishgard. So when his father answered with that they we’re going to take a walk through the city, some excited grew inside the boy. He grinned, “awesome!” He left his room to walk beside his father. Erek continued with the question about how he’d experienced the city so far. “Overwhelming,” he blurted out before he could think about what he was going to answer. But that was how a father-son bond worked, right? No hesitations, no pretence. “But I like it, I think I can learn a lot here,” he added with honesty. He didn’t dislike it here. He was just unfamiliar with being out in the world. “It got me thinking about what I want to do with my life,” he continued before looking in his father’s direction. It was his father who was taking the lead, so Oscar followed.

They left the room behind them while Erek asked his son what he thought of the city so far. Without thinking about it Oscar described it as overwhelming. Erek smiled. It must be an impressive city for someone who hadn’t been out of Sleetspire all that often. Their home was a fortress, a mining city, and while the gems from the mines brought wealth to Sleetspire, its architecture couldn’t compare to the centuries-old buildings of Ishgard. He was glad Oscar liked it here. “And what is it you want to do with your life then?” he asked, curious about the answer.