Happy Birthday, times twelve

One by one the Carpathian children came filing into the great hall, each birthday boy and girl greeted with a loving smile and a tail wag from their sire. The first one in unsurprisingly was his littlest, the dire wolf father greeting Clove with an affectionate nose boop to her forehead as she nuzzled his forelegs. "Good morning, Clovie! Happy birthday, sweetheart!" An amused smile touched Art's lips while he watched Clove take her place at the table and immediately light up upon seeing her gift waiting for her. Then came Nelu to join them, greeting them all in his usual manner of formalness, followed closely by Solaire. Artorias returned his son's bowed head and smiled at his boys, now almost fully grown to his full dire-sized height to where Art could look his sons in the eye. "Good morning, Nelu, Solaire, and happy birthday, lads! I'm doing very well! Are you excited for your special day?" he asked his son, tail all awag with joy for his now yearling pups. After the boys got settled, Artorias noticed Silas coming quietly into the hall, meeting his auroral son with a loving smile. His sweet Silas had always been the most reserved of the bunch, but he'd gotten a lot better as he got older. Artorias returned his son's bow and even snuck him a little boop on the head with his snoot when he walked by, unable to contain his boundless affection for his children, he was so proud of them all! Some time passed and Artorias looked at the door awaiting his last two children's arrival. A skittering of paws brought Ember into the hall with a boisterous greeting in Carpathian for them all, followed by the pleas to open their gifts. Art chuckled and gave Ember a playfully scolding look. "Once everyone is here, we can open gifts," he told her, looking back to the door just in time to see Vendrick finally making his way in, greeting his last child with a chipper, "Good morning, Ven!"

Now that they were all gathered, it was time for the ceremonial embarrassing of his children by being an overtly loving father! Clearing his throat, Artorias began to sing the customary birthday song for his newly minted yearlings. "La mulți ani pentru tine, la mulți ani pentru tine! La mulți ani Ember, Clove, Silas, Vendrick, Nelu, și Solaire! La mulți ani pentru tine!" Artorias sang for his children while in the rafters overhead Corbin and Eira cawed and cheered for the yearlings. Now that the customary humiliating had been accomplished, Art beamed at all six of his little (or not so little anymore) loves with pure fatherly affection in his fire-toned gaze. "My children, you have all done amazing things in the first year of your lives, and today you start your next steps in your journey as yearlings. As adolescents, you will begin to find your places in the Hallows, learn who you are and become who you want to be. Your mother and I are both so incredibly proud of you all, and we love you each with all our hearts and souls." Artorias' gaze moved across each of his children, lingering on each pup for a few moments of affection. Ah, but they were patiently (or impatiently) waiting to open their gifts, as Ember was already starting to claw at the wrappings of hers. Art chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Okay, okay, I won't make you wait anymore. Go on, iubirile mele, open them up!"

Artorias watched on proudly as his yearling children began to unwrap their gifts, some more like feral animals than others (Ember). Clove’s gift opened to reveal a long, thin mahogany box. Inside lay a beautiful necklace made of pure gold. The thin chain held a gold pendant that showed the same swirls of Damascus patterning as the rare Carpathian steel many of their family possessed. The gold pendant was shaped into the flame sigil of the Carpathian family and studded with fiery orange sapphires, with a larger royal blue sapphire in the middle of the pendant. "Now you can start your own jewelry collection like your mother," the sire wolf playfully teased his littlest girl. "The flames are the sigil of our family. Like the eternal fire burning in our hearth, our family will last for eternity." Clove had never wanted any Carpathian steel, but her love for jewelry had inspired Artorias. He had spent hours working the forge refining the technique he used to smelt the ripples of Carpathian steel into gold, but eventually he had nailed it. His little Clove was worth it and he hoped she loved her gift.

Nelu’s gift was quite large, and when the bulky packaging was unwrapped it revealed a pristine set of black leather armor. The cuirass was reinforced with extra padding for protection and straps at the joints to permit more nimble movement. Around the throat, a thin steel plate gorget would shield the neck from fatal blows. It was identical to the armor Artorias wore, a more royal look to the standard Hallows armor to signify Nelu’s status as a prince. "Now you’ll be ready if any more Raiders decide to try and test you," he joked with a lopsided grin. "Try it on! We can adjust the fit to make sure it’s comfortable for you." Safety was paramount to the Lord of Cinder when it came to his children. No expense would be spared to keep them safe.

Solaire’s gift was the largest of the bunch, and the most obvious for what it was, save for maybe Ember’s. The giant axe-shaped package could only be one thing. When his son unwrapped his gift, the glistening Carpathian steel double-bit head of the battle axe was the first thing revealed. The steel gleamed in the morning light, revealing the rough matte finish with streaks of polished steel cutting through the finish like rain falling down a windowpane. The handle was made of polished dark walnut and the end had a pommel of sharp Carpathian steel like a spike on the end. Artorias exchanged a look with Briar, knowing his mate had been worried about gifting their son such a massive weapon when he had asked for one. He trusted Solaire to be careful though. "With great power comes great responsibility," he cautioned his son all the same, just to be safe. "We can start practicing with your new weapon right away to get you familiar with it, but do be careful swinging it around, son." For all their sakes… They didn’t need a repeat of Thorn.

Silas was his special boy, and as such, Artorias and Briar had prepared an extra special gift for him. The boy had shown tremendous growth in his self-confidence, but sometimes it was nice to have a safety net to fall back on, a lifeline to yank in case you needed it. That had been the inspiration behind Silas’ gift. Inside the wrappings was a sturdy brown leather bracer, polished and embossed with vine-like designs. Built into the bracer was a compass—but it was no ordinary compass. The compass had two dials that shifted and turned as the bracer moved, a red arrow always pointing north and an orange arrow always pointing toward the Grand Hearth in Hearthstone. Artorias did not pretend to know how the compass worked, just that it did. "Now you’ll always be able to find your way back home, no matter where you go." Artorias smiled at Silas, hoping this would help encourage the lad to feel more confident to go adventuring and hunting.

By the time Artorias looked at Ember, the girl was already tearing into her obviously sword-shaped gift like a whirlwind, earning her another chuckle and shake of the head from her father. Ember was incorrigible, but her enthusiasm to get her sword reminded the Lord of Cinder of a younger version of himself. The moment the wrappings were pulled away, the gleam of silver steel flashed in the morning light. The sword was shorter than the Lord of Cinder's, better balanced for his smaller daughter and lighter weight with its thin blade. The blade itself was polished to a mirror-like luster, with intricate wording in Carpathian etched into the steel down the center of the blade. The hilt and pommel were shaped like a raven's head and wings extended, all made of rippling Carpathian steel, and the hilt was wrapped in supple black leather to match its scabbard. "I chose this blade specifically for you, fiica mea. Carry it with honor and take care of it." He had no doubts Ember would be responsible, for she so loved the Carpathian steel weapons.

Vendrick's gift was the most different from the others. Instead of a wrapped present, a small leather satchel sat in his place. Inside, two raven feathers lay hidden, one a jet black and the other a snowy white. As soon as his son took them out, Artorias chuckled and gave a sharp whistle. From the rafters above, a young male raven swooped down to land on Vendrick's shoulder, regarding the wolf with a curious avian tilt of its head. The raven was covered in black feathers everywhere except its wings, which alternated black and white feathers back and forth in a continuous pattern. "This is Rareş. He's the eldest of Corbin and Eira's chicks, and the fastest flier of the bunch. And now, he's your faithful companion to share your adventures with." Artorias smiled at his son and his newest companion, glancing up to his own ravens in the rafters as they watched their son passed over to Vendrick with pride and joy. The Hallows was renowned for its ravens, many of them stemming from his own loyal companions, and now Vendrick would share in the family tradition. Just as the next generation of Carpathians ventured forth into the world, so too did the next generation of ravens with them.

With all the children's gifts given, Artorias just basked in the bliss of the moment, sharing this special moment with his family. After a few moments, the Lord of Cinder turned to Ember and Solaire, the two of his offspring who had received their special family weapons. "Do you two have names you'd like to give your new weapons?" he asked them with a curious tilt of his head. "It's tradition for Carpathians to name their weapons. Dusk has Whisper, Ciaran has Windrunner, your mother has Memento. What would you like your weapons to be called?"

"Carpathius Family"