(no subject)

I'm not sure why it took until I was 26 years old for me to have a Festival most other people usually have, but I am not going to complain. I know no one wants to read a sad story on this kind of day, but I don't think I've ever gotten more than one gift a year. There were years I didn't get anything. My father wasn't a knight, my father was just a soldier. He never advanced very far, and Korin doesn't pay its soldiers enough to feed eight kids let alone give them presents. I was the eighth, and by the time they got to a gift for me they had maybe two silver to rub together.

I stopped getting gifts from my family period when I started travelling with Gebann. Gebann became my family, and to be honest he's the best gift giver I know. Still, we were on the move more often than not, and I thought I'd missed all of the good years. Gebann had good memories from when he was a kid, and we had to share his to have a set between us.

This is the first year I've gotten more than one gift. This is the first year I've sat around a full table with people who could be a family. I want to thank all of you, as openly as I can, for all of this. I know you can't call it your best, but it's the best I've ever had. I didn't think this was possible north of Hanalan. Thanks, and I mean it.