Sauron sat in the shade of a great tree; running his hands though Skava’s fur idly and listening to the leaves disturb themselves in the wind. It seemed that it would be another thinking day for him. Every once in a while it was time to reflect on the past and think of how it had influenced his life, you know becoming all sage like in his advancing years as he liked to put it. So much had come to past in the years since he had been but a prentice, he had been so sweet then; ignorant, naive and sweet. He liked to think that he had retained some of that sweetness. It was hard to remember details of the old days before the wars had broken out. He remembered swimming in the lake though, on his back, carefree. Or at least relatively carefree compared to now. He remembered meeting Kelina for the first time, and their realization that she was pregnant twice, and seeing Skava for the first time. He remembered friends made, friends lost and overlaid over it all were the wars, icons in his life. He would not be the man he was now without them. What would he have been like without war shadowing him at the most important times in his life. First the war with Oba, pitched into the fray he and Kelina had fought for their lived and for their freedom. Then they had had the twins to think about. Sauron had kept an inquisitive Seze away from the front. The constant worrying about Kel and Kres had done something to him, hardened his biggest priority to a point. That priority had been and always would be family, nothing existed on the planet more important than the well being of his wife and children. Then there were the triplets and their difficult birth. Would he have accomplished what he had with the herb thieves had he not experienced the desperation of the war? Probably not, he had a sneaking suspicion that he would have fallen to his knees and balled, potentially losoing his mate and their unborn children in the process. His eyes glinted, hard as rock, as the thought thoroughly disgusted him. He owed a lot to their wonderful midwife Ime. The rest he owed to Kelina’s strength and his own quick, efficient action in retrieving the herbs.
He had to face that the war had altered him beyond reversal. But had it been a good thing? Without it, he would not have been able to help Ime, and if he had lost Kelina it would have killed him. Then too, his children had been born into one war or another almost, enough that he had had all of them with him in the battle against the Alkidike extremists, that experience had been both wonderful and absolutely terrifying. His fears had been warranted too, Vuka had a limp, Vallen had a scar and who knew what other injuries had occurred. But they had prevailed and the alks were sent to the island only to disturb the poor locals who had their own issues. But without this who knew how long it would have taken the timid Yaelians to reach the mainland. Would they have to go to war against the children eaters? Probably. Did he want peace for everyone definitely. He wanted to retire to a life of leisurely mock battles with others to keep in shape. Watch and help his children grow and reach their goals. He didn’t want to dwell on war and pain and death. It wasn’t really his thing, but he knew when the time came, even if he wasn’t there in a fighting capacity that his spirit would fight with his people to save the day. He liked to think that he had fathered people not soldiers. But they had half of his genes and considering where the other half came from they would be okay if they had to fight. He wondered how each would come into their own, they had been born into war, would they have to live with its shadow as well? Or would they strive to change the world? Oh this was giving him such a headache. Time to think of brighter things.
Word Count: 712