Tale of Eldramir

There was silence for several seconds as everyone in the room looked at Ezekiel with a new evaluation in mind. Each and every one of them had originally thought that he would be easily bullied and wouldn’t even be able to fight back as a Void mage. Yet here he was, dodging dangerous attacks with his eyes closed and calling them out like they were nothing worth mentioning.

As the silence stretched on, Alys looked towards Aldor, whose hands were lightly smoking as his anger flared through his magic. Given what just happened, she really wanted to go up there and knock Ezekiel down a couple of pegs. But she wasn’t sure if things should go on given what had occurred.

They were already probably going to get into trouble if the adults found out about what just happened. She wasn’t going to risk getting Aldor into more if things got more heated, but if Aldor told her to she would go up and spar. She considered herself to be the most loyal after all.

Aldor was also someone who supported her though most of her troubles in school and with the Church of Light, so it wasn’t like she disagreed with taking out some stress relief on someone who wasn’t worth the air they breathed.

“Alys,” Aldor said as he turned to walk away from the center of the room. “Get up here and spar with the brat. Show him that getting lucky once in a while isn’t anything to be proud of.”

“Sure thing boss. I’ll teach this little punk not to mess with his betters.” Alys said with confidence as she stepped forward. She had no doubt in her abilities, and fully believed Aldor’s words when he said Ezekiel was just lucky with his dodge. It would be far too humiliating for all of them if they couldn’t land a hit on a Void mage that had already insulted and shown such derision and hostility.

“Sis,” Everett called out, “show him what you’ve got.”

Everett’s voice was filled with support, even as the pain he was in also echoed out. It seemed like he wanted Alys to beat Ezekiel just as much as Aldor, which was surprising, as you would think that he would feel some resentment towards the one who burned him.

“Alright you little brat. Time for me to show you your place in the dirt!” Alys exclaimed as she reached the center of the room roughly ten feet away from Ezekiel. Sand rose from the ground and swirled around her hands and legs. “Try not to get too hurt now. Wouldn’t want mommy to see how pathetic you are.”

“No need to worry. My mother loves me, so I don’t have to prove myself like you most likely fail to do every day just by being alive.” Ezekiel said with a monotone voice.

“You little brat!” Alys screamed as she waved her hand and caused a horizontal line of sand to shoot towards Ezekiel at a fairly rapid pace.

He immediately repeated his previous actions and rolled underneath the attack. This time moving towards the side as he avoided the sand that would’ve doubtlessly scraped off a little bit of skin had it hit him. Of course, this only made Alys even more angry.

“You know, I just realized. Are we just going to go at this until you run out of stamina and can’t move? It’s not like I can actually attack you after all. So, I don’t really think there’s another way for me to prove that I’ve won.” Ezekiel said in a casual tone as he quickly stood up and side-stepped a rock that was punched in his direction.

It was a small rock, only a centimeter in diameter, but still larger than the sand particles that were being moved around more frequently. It would’ve caused bruising for sure, but not so much as to be debilitating. Just painful and annoying.

“You act like you’re already going to win. How deluded must you be if you think that’s even possible?” Alys called out as she compressed her sand into five small spheres and physically threw them at Ezekiel as hard as she could.

This time Ezekiel did a backwards roll as he avoided the rocks. Which only caused Alys to grow even angrier.

Off to the side with the other children, Aldor’s hands were releasing even more smoke. To the point that it was turning black rather than the comparatively harmless white smoke he was letting off before. His grinding teeth and maddened glare were also growing worse. To the point where Stephen moved himself between Shari and Aldor. Better to have a Tier 1 mage between the Tier 0 and the angry Flame Mage than to have nothing between them at all.

By this point Peni had finished healing Everett to the best of her ability. He wouldn’t suffer any permanent damage, as it was primarily surface damage, but he would still need to get checked out by a certified healer to fix up any minor damages that she couldn’t get as only a Tier 1 mage.

Looking up at the sparring between Alys and Ezekiel, Peni decided that it might be best if did her best to recover what mana she could, as she knew that someone else was going to get hurt sooner, rather than later. Although, who was going to get hurt was a question she couldn’t answer.

Ezekiel continued to dodge Alys’ attacks for several minutes, up to nearly twice as long as the spar between Aldor and Everett, as he danced around the room whilst she stayed relatively still and didn’t move much. The difference in movement did not reflect the difference in stamina, however, as it was Alys that looked to be growing more and more tired by the second, whilst Ezekiel had only a slight sheen of perspiration on his forehead.

“You know, we can stop at any point. This is supposed to just be a spar. And I think I’ve learned quite a bit about what it means to fight with a Cavern mage.” Ezekiel said as he avoided a much slower rock than the ones previously thrown.

“Hu...haa...hu...haa...” Alys could barely get a word out as she forced herself to shoot another blast of sand at Ezekiel. This time however, he didn’t bother to dodge it, as it lost cohesion before it even made it close enough to hit him.

“And now you’ve used up all your mana. Really, was this pointless display really-” Ezekiel tried to say as he began to approach Alys, who had slumped to the ground on her hands and knees. Unfortunately, he was cut off before he’d made more than a couple of steps as a ball of fire forced him to jump back as fast as he could.

“Aldor!” Peni and Stephen cried out at the same time.

“What are you doing! Once was bad enough but attacking from behind and interrupting a separate spar that doesn’t involve you isn’t right!” Peni said with a surprising amount of heat in her voice.

“SHUT UP!!!” Aldor screamed as he carelessly threw another wave of fire at the rest of the kids in the room. Everett, who had recovered fairly well by this point, quickly threw up his own shield of mist so as to defend against the fire as best he could, whilst Stephen grabbed Shari and dashed backwards as fast as he could. Doing his best not to increase the power of Aldor’s flames with his wind.

“This little brat needs to learn his place. Better yet, he should be removed from this world before he can become a threat to humanity as a whole!” Aldor yelled as his hand ignited in fire. “A Void mage that is worthless can be swept aside and permitted to live in mediocrity and servitude towards their betters, but a Void mage with any sort of capability is the ideal host leader for the Cruor, and a potential heir to the Broods. They cannot be allowed to live. I’ll take whatever punishment I need to, so long as this brat doesn’t leave here alive!”

With that final scream of rage Aldor blasted forwards, moving far faster than before, as he flared his flames as hot as he could make them go. Lashing out as quickly as he could, a rolling wave of fire headed towards Ezekiel, as well as Alsy who was on the ground behind him, wide enough and tall enough that he wouldn’t be able to roll out of the way in time to not be hurt.

But seeing the fire coming towards him, Ezekiel didn’t do anything. He didn’t try to dodge, and he didn’t try to defend himself. He didn’t even look away as the fire moved towards him.

He didn’t need to do any of these things, as a wall of shadows shot up in a line from the opposite side of the room. Reaching up from the ground and preventing the fire from getting anywhere near Ezekiel, or the fallen Alys behind him.

As the fire hit the wall of shadows and fizzled out, the room grew exponentially darker as the shadows encompassed the room, wrapping around both Aldor and the rest of the children. Most of them simply had their limbs encompassed like shackles, or handcuffs, the exceptions being Shari, Alys and Aldor. The first because she was too young, and the second because she wasn’t able to move on her own right now anyways.

Aldor, on the other hand was wrapped up like a mummy, unable to move even a finger as he was fully bound in shadows such that only his face, specifically the area around his eyes, was visible. He was even held aloft as his body was raised up, spun around, and flipped upside-down so that he was forced to look at Reya as she climbed out from the ground in front of the doors leading out to the hall.

But this Reya wasn’t the same housecat as the one they saw earlier that day. This feline was nearly four feet high at the shoulder, and eight feet long whilst not including the tail, with six limbs and three tails, as well glowing runes emblazoned across her fur in a shifting pattern of wispy smoke like waves rolling across her fur. The symbols of a Tier 3 Spirit.

BANG

The doors to the gathering room slammed open as Evelyn and Allon entered the room. Both of them had looks of absolute fury on their faces. Evelyn, though dressed in simple clothing that decried her status as a True Hunter, now looked like a lady of supreme nobility just from posture and aura alone. Whilst Allon, dressed in his finery and high-class business attire, looked much more enraged than even Evelyn did, and all of that rage was directed toward his son, who clearly didn’t understand his position if the glare he was sending Evelyn was anything to go by. In his hands was also a small glass cube that was only a couple of inches wide.

Behind the two parents there were eight guards, six of them split into two groups as they held two badly beaten guards in chains as they dragged them into the room behind their boss and Evelyn.

Approaching her son, Evelyn knelt down in order to pick Ezekiel up. Looking over her son, she was quite annoyed that she could see several small bruises on his body from where he dodged incorrectly or was forced to avoid a hit that would’ve injured him more than was acceptable.

“Oh, my poor boy. My poor baby. Did these little brats hurt you?” She said as she started coddling Ezekiel as best she could whilst holding him tightly to her chest. “I promise, they won’t get to hurt you ever again. If I have to go to their homes and wreck them so badly, they have to leave the city forever, I’ll do it if it means you’ll be safe.”

While Evelyn's words were meant to be reassuring, and to Ezekiel they were, they were nothing more than the promises of pain and suffering for the rest of the children in the room.

“Mother... mother!” Ezekiel exclaimed as she pulled himself partway out of Evelyn’s embrace. “I’m okay. They weren’t even able to touch me. I’ve had rougher times playing tag with Reya and Theo.”

Ezekiel’s statement brought out a small chuff from Reya as she chuckled at his comparison of an actual sparring match versus the games she and Theo played with him. After all, how could these children have caused him any trouble at all when she and Theo were teaching their partners’ little cub to fight and hunt properly.

“Evelyn,” Allon said in a tight tone of voice as he stared down his son, who was doing his best to not meet his eyes, “I think you can release the children. Except for my son. Let him speak, but don’t let him go. I need to speak with him.”

Evelyn, at the reminder of Aldor’s presence, turned to glare at the fool that tried to kill her son, but acquiesced to Allon’s request. At her nod, the shadows binding the lower half of Aldor’s face retracted.

“Father-”

SLAP

Aldor’s angry exclamation was cut off as his father slapped him without a second’s hesitation. This shocked him well enough that Allon was able to speak without being interrupted.

“You are a disgrace.” Allon’s voice was a harsh whisper as he berated his son. “Not only have I found out that you are disrespecting our guests, the family of a True Hunter at that, but I’ve now also found out that you’re in line with those bastard cultists who dare besmirch the legacy of one of the great Ancients.”

“Father-”

SLAP

“I’m not finished.” Allon said as he lowered his hand from his son’s face once again. “Worse yet, I’ve found out that you’ve been using your allowance to bribe my own household guards to hide information from me, as well as disobey me, under the false belief that one’s affinity for magic determines their worth.”

He gestured to the two guards that were being held on their knees by the doorway.

“When your mother returns from her shift tonight, she will be informed of what occurred here, and we will be doing a full sweep of the guards, to ensure they understand who they work for, and to make sure that there are no additional traitors hidden within MY house.”

Allon stopped for a minute to take a breath and calm down.

“In addition,” he followed up, “we will be deciding what your punishment will be.”

Aldor said nothing as he glared at nothing as he continued to avoid eye contact with his father.

“Do you understand?” Allon asked.

Aldor said nothing.

“I said, do you understand!?” Allon said with a raised voice.

Aldor didn’t say anything as he continued to glare at nothing.

Allon just let out a sigh and turned away, walking towards the door and the guards.

“... I didn’t do anything wrong...” Aldor said with a quiet voice.

Allon stopped as soon as he heard this. His hands clenched as his face twisted in anger. Nothing happened, however, as he continued walking towards the guards.

“Take these two to the holding cells in the basement. They will be tried and punished accordingly for breaking their contracts.” Allon said to the six guards that were still standing. They quickly pulled the two injured guards and headed further into the estate.

“Evelyn,” he said as he turned around, “I’m sorry, but it seems like I need to clean house. I’ve alerted the head of my guards, and he will be accompanying me as I deal with my household’s issues. But I would request that you not be here as I have already had my family embarrassed enough for one day. The other children will also be sent home, so I hope that you will not take my words as further slight towards you and your son.”

Evelyn said nothing as she nodded her head.

“It’s fine.” Evelyn said as she picked up Ezekiel, who only put up a token resistance to being so easily handled by his mother. “I’m sorry for the ordeal you are having to go through at this time.”

The shadows around the room slowly retracted themselves as they returned to normal. Reya also shrank down to her house cat size as she leapt onto her partner’s shoulders.

“I will contact you tomorrow. Just to ensure that no miscreants like those two scumbags have caused you any undue harm.” Evelyn said, nodding in the direction the guards headed off to.

Allon said nothing as he turned to the children in the room. He might’ve only been a Tier two mage, but he was more than capable enough to ensure his safety from a group of children. Especially when said children were terrified and had no desire to fight.

As they walked away, Ezekiel couldn’t help but notice that Aldor’s glare was just as strong and full of rage as it was before. Rage that he could also see reflected in Everett and Alys eyes, as they too glared at him as he and his mother walked away.

‘Well,’ Ezekiel thought, ‘this was certainly an eventful day.’