“Arkay! Welcome back!” Vikalos smiled. “You were gone for a while!”
“Yeah…” Arkay clearly wasn’t rather cheerful. “I forgot what getting properly and unwillingly drunk was like, and somewhat accidentally trauma-dumped on my adopted dad while being absolutely pissed off at old old Tenuk.”
Vikalos shrugged. “Well, admittedly, you being gone for so long was a boon for the rest of us. Aspfteros and Teekay got along very well with us. Teekay was glad to meet other Rethans and Nyssi now somewhat has a boyfriend.”
Arkay stared at Vikalos in disbelief. “What?”
“What?”
“Was that Rethan that old old Tenuk brought along really called Teekay?”
“Indeed. He believes his initials were T and K, but the poor blighter has almost complete amnesia from the trauma he went through. Litvir and Kuta did their best to help, but Litvir was very clear that they couldn’t do much, because they didn’t want to cause him extra pain. Anyway, how was your trip?”
Arkay sighed. “I don’t want to talk about it. I want to sit on the beach, stare into the sky and think about anything else.”
“Do you want to talk about something else?” Vikalos asked. “Because I have a… somewhat random thing I want to discuss with you.”
“Is it about me?”
“No, it has nothing to do with you. Well… it’s more that, you speak a lot of languages, and I would like some assistance with something.”
Arkay thought for a moment. “Can we do that while sitting on the beach, letting the waves brush over us while sipping fizzy energy drinks and staring at the sky?”
“We can, yes.”
“Well, alright then! Let’s go!”
Arkay perked up as he headed over to the beach, stopping by the canteen and grabbing some drinks as he did so. Vikalos was glad that Arkay was clearly feeling better, and happily followed him to the beach. Arkay immediately sat down right by the water, then dug a small hole, let it fill with water, blocked off the water with the sand then chilled the water down and placed the drinks in the now very cold water.
“So, Vikalos, what’s bothering you?” Arkay asked.
“You’ve really perked up.”
“I have. Because I get to talk to the person who tried to help me when I was stuck in Deathven. Not that… that I actually remember any of it… Anyway, what’s up?”
Vikalos grunted as he sat down next to Arkay. “First off, is it possible that we speak in silence? I do not want others to overhear us.”
Arkay shrugged, swished his fingers around then made a clicking sound with his tongue. “Done. No one can hear us. You seem concerned though.”
“Not really. I do owe you an explanation for this secrecy though…” Arkay handed Vikalos a drink. Vikalos opened it up, took a sip, then started explaining. “You know about my wedding plans, yes?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, part of it involves giving my two angels a surname. Phovos suggested that I give Itaviir and Galyn my surname, but I don’t really have a surname. My full name was always just Rhetvikalios, I never had a surname or anything apart from various titles. At the same time, a surname for a Beh’en is somewhat like a title. it is a description, a hint at what they are and who they are. For example, our friend Lightblade, his full name is Phos Astrir, because he is so heavily tied to light, stars and purity. His partner Soulblade, Psehon, his surname is Panton, because he is the all-encompassing soul and mind of the Phantai and the Beh’ens of the Goldtorn Remains in general.”
“Huh…” Arkay thought for a moment. “Do you have any other examples? And… wait, doesn’t Fengar have a surname?”
Vikalos nodded. “He does. Because Fengar once stopped a small moon from crashing into the Warmth he was a guardian of, he was gifted the surname “Selin”. Thyel also earned a surname for his many actions in the Ventra Expanse. I believe that Itaviir and Galyn have done enough to also earn themselves a surname.”
“And… how do you do that?”
“Phovos and I have already sorted out that part, since a surname has to be given to a Beh’enu by a Mother, and she is definitely one, being the direct descendent of Kinisis. My problem is, I… I cannot think of anything… cool for my two darlings.”
“And you need my help?”
“Yes.”
“Do you have… any initial thoughts?”
Vikalos frowned, then nodded. He opened up his hammerspace and pulled out a notebook. After flicking through quite a few pages, Vikalos found what he was looking for. He showed the page to Arkay.
“Ah. I see. You want a somewhat short name based on all the badass shit you three have done?”
“Yes. After all, the three of us founded a sect, the three of us have saved lives and the three of us killed so many Voidborns in one go that my fur was dyed gold from all the blood. We have done enough and I want a surname that reflects that.”
Arkay read through the notes, then summoned a pen and started writing a few things down next to some of Vikalos’s notes. He mostly just did a few translations, primarily in Shadowtongue, and he avoided the more… mystical languages. After all, a name in Xa Thimiouyalagi would have just confused everyone. After he was done writing, Arkay showed his own notes to Vikalos.
“Huh… I… I like a lot of those, but they feel a bit long. Especially since I am also going to take this as my surname.”
“Oh?” Arkay lit up. “Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Ah! I… I have an idea…”
“You do?”
Arkay wrote a few things down then thought a bit more. All of a sudden, the perfect thought came up. He wrote it down in big, capital letters, with a translation underneath, then showed it to Vikalos.
“You like?” Arkay asked.
Vikalos read what Arkay had written, then smiled. He smiled quite a lot.
“I like it, I like it a lot. Can you keep it secret, until the big day?”
“Of course.”
That smile turned into a grin. “Perfect…”