Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV
Part V

After coming to the realization that she can not raise the child on the road. Kava decides to seek the aid of her father, praying that he would understand.

Characters and story © myself
Setting material and icon background © Wizards of the Coast



The Civilized Savage Part III: Fatherhood




Dear father,

I realize it has been some time since we have seen each other. However, I must speak with you on a very important and very sensitive matter. I am sorry I can not be more specific at this time, but I am sure you understand. I am currently on my way to Talerius, and I can only speculate how long after you receive this I will arrive. I will arrive at the manor, for I need privacy with you.

May Bahamut watch over us all,

Kava Letrah

Balasar looked over the missive once more, again pondering its meaning. It was short, formal, and to the point, as his daughter always wrote and spoke. What worried him was that she was rarely so vague. What manner of secret could she be carrying that she needed to discuss with him? It had been several days since he had received the missive from the courier, whom nearly lost his life getting to the city. Which meant Kava, his daughter, could be arriving at almost any time.

It had been many years since he had left the city, having finally retired from a life of adventure. The days he had traveled the world for glory, honor, and a worthy martial challenge were long past, as his aged and weathered crimson hide attested. Even so, he never tired of looking at all the mementos of that time displayed here and there in his study. His enchanted great sword Sunder, his resplendent scale armor, and all the little trinkets he had found as the spoils of war. Some of which he still made quite extensive use of.

But his days were hardly dull, he reflected. The life of a politician was no safe trek, even disregarding the potential for hired assassins. Every decision, every fight, and every challenge affected the fate of hundreds, and potentially thousands. It was a dangerous game, and one he could now say with honesty he felt he had virtually mastered.

Balasar was shaken from his reminiscence by a firm knocking. He wondered a moment who could possibly be knocking at the door to his study, when his eye caught the missive he had been reading a few moments before still on his desk. There was only one person it could be he realized.

“Come in,” he called, mentally shaking his head that he hadn’t known instantly. True, this was the first time she had returned since leaving to bring justice to those most in need some five years prior, but she was also the only one with a key besides himself, and what assassin would knock at his door? With only a trace of reluctance, he admitted that he was perhaps getting a little slower as he aged. But he hadn’t yet lost his wits, and he knew he had many long years before he retired for good.

“I pray you are well father?” she asked with a smile. Balasar returned the smile, taking in the beauty of his daughter, his only child. She reminded him so greatly of his late wife, but the sight of her brought back so many other more pleasant memories. Though he felt she looked better armed and armored in her role of a roving cleric of Bahamut the flowing dress she now wore, with the symbol of her faith on her chest and the pendant she never removed at her breasts, made her look stunning.

But there was something else at her breasts he noted with interest, a bundle she carried with care that he realized was moving. It took only a moment longer to realize why she had desired a level of privacy. But that does not quite explain her secrecy, he thought. She would have simply told me if she had a child were the matter that simple, her own or otherwise.

“You look lovely dear,” he addressed her, deciding to begin with some polite personal matters before getting to the heart of their meeting. It had been quite some time after all, as Kava had admitted in her letter. Even though she was an adult and no longer needed his guidance, five years was still five years. “How were your travels?”

“They went well. Nothing my companions and I could not handle. And your own adventures?” she asked with a grin. Kava had teased him on his career choice many a time while she had been training with the church, and it seemed she still enjoyed it. Had anyone else made jest of his being a politician, they would soon face a miserable week. But he knew his daughter meant no ill will, even if he still did not find the jest all that funny.

“As always, I have yet to find an opponent that can best me, but the challenge is yet there,” he humored her, responding much as he always had and enjoying the familiarity. “Now, I presume that the reason for you coming has something to do with that bundle you hold so carefully in your arms?” As of yet, though he knew it was a child she carried, he could not actually see the child under the blanket wrapping. By the breathing, he could tell the child was fast asleep. The gears began to turn as he put together the secrecy of the letter with the apparent secrecy of the child. But there was still something missing, preventing him from grasping the full reality of the situation. It was a position he found he was not in the least comfortable with.

“Indeed father, it is. Please father, I ask that you listen to what I have to say before making any decisions.” Perplexed by her now solemn words, he watched as part of the blanket was pulled from the child. In his old age he had seen many things, some extraordinary, some beyond his comprehension to this very day. Though he had not seen it all, he had believed himself beyond surprise at the unexpected. Yet there he sat, seeing before him his daughter carrying and caring for a gnoll pup.

“I have named him Kriv,” she pressed on, ignoring the surprise he knew was surely evident on his face. “I have been given a sign from Bahamut that this child is to be raised properly, to respect and follow the virtues of justice and honor, and I have sworn it to be so. Only…” and here she paused, and Balasar was again surprised. In his daughter’s face and voice he sensed hints of fear, and knew already what she was hesitant to say.

“You want me to raise this…child, Kava?” He had thought to call the creature a beast, but the way she held the creature, and the way it seemed so comfortable and so…innocent in her arms made the word catch in his throat. And there was something in her eyes as well. He stopped himself from saying any more. He had always thought her judgment sound, and so decided to let her explain before contemplating the matter further.

“Yes, I do,” she replied solemnly. “I cannot take proper care of the child myself, not within the course of my duties. But he needs to be raised properly, and I know he can be. You taught me the values I hold to this day and will never relinquish. I humbly ask that you do the same for Kriv.”

As it frequently did, Balasar’s mind quickly sped through all the ramifications of the current situation and potential decisions. And there were more to this course of action than he had ever had to try and contemplate before. But soon he found his mind on a rather unexpected track; he realized he was thinking about the logistics of how to raise the gnoll and keep him secret. Not one thought that went through his mind centered on how to decline his daughter’s plea. Balasar realized, to his rather startled surprise, that his decision was already made. This…this was a unique opportunity, a challenge possibly worth being the true foundation of his legacy, something he could achieve that would give him true fulfillment. He had slain great and terrible beasts, brought an end to the diabolical machinations of cruel power seekers, maneuvered within the games of politics, helped bring prosperity to those who had lost hope, and raised a fine daughter. Now, he would raise a beast to be an individual of honor; perhaps even a fine son.

By his daughter’s expression, he knew that Kava was reading him like a book. It was a gift she had, one from her mother, and one his wife had tried to teach him. For a moment he thought she might have even manipulated him, but cast the thought aside. His vision was his alone, even if she had known that vision was likely to come to him. She simply knew that if anyone could raise the child as he should be raised, it was him. And Balasar was honored that his daughter thought him worthy of the task.

“I’ll raise him like my own son,” he answered after a few moments more. After having done so much of what life had to offer, this new challenge excited him. Kava brought the pup over to him, and he was amazed at how peaceful Kriv looked in her arms. The little gnoll reached up and tugged at Kava’s pendant gently, and Balasar knew what sign she must have seen, and felt it was a true sign himself. Even in dreams, the pup reached for the symbol of justice an honor.

“I have to warn you,” Kava began seriously, though there was a hint of laughter in her voice, “he is a handful, and not very gentle. I would be careful where you keep him and what you keep around him.” She looked around the room, silently but pointedly reminding him of things that could go wrong.

“Do not worry my daughter; I believe I know just how to handle this. You were quite the rambunctious youngster as a child. This little one will just be more so.” Balasar looked over at the little pup that had now become his adopted son, finding he could not begin to contemplate just where this road would go, and loving the feeling.

“Well, now that you have a stepbrother, I believe you and I have some catching up to do.”