Chapter 3: Confirmation

*** Nict State Free City, Tri ***

*** Yoran ***

It's morning and I haven't slept since yesterday. My wife, Valda, was kidnapped during her trip through the city and her guards were killed.

Luckily, a random commoner saw what happened and since our clan has a good relationship with the common people, he immediately reported it to me.

Of course I mobilized the whole family and all our resources to find my pregnant wife. But it's too late. I will never forgive myself for that.

A dark arts user had placed his hands on her. He cut the child from his belly and used it as an offering for his crazy summoning ceremony.

I wish I could have killed him. At least I ordered his corpse to be cut up and displayed at all four main gates of our city.

So why is my wife sitting there with a little boy on her lap? Even if this creature saved her, he cannot be our son. She was in her fourth month and that boy has to be at least seven months old.

But her light hair shows off my dark color, while some strands shine with my wife's dark blue metallic color.

The horns are just tiny buds still, but they still marked the boy as a member of our race.

I cover my face with both hands and start rubbing. The happenings in that cave seem so unreal. Where did this dark wizard come from? There was no indication of such a powerful practitioner of the dark arts in my city.

As the governor of Tri I should have heard of him. I wouldn't have let my wife leave with so few guards.

Grandma Quamar is watching Valda and the boy as well. She would have slit the child's throat right there if I hadn't interfered. She is a bit chubby and is sitting with a gloomy expression next to the healer who is examining the boy. She's got her staff ready and her gray hair is messy. One of her gorgeous horns broke during the fight, but otherwise she's fine.

Valda's sister, Jade, is also with us in the healer Laney's office. She hasn't spoken a word since... She was returned from the dead. Jade is just looking at her hands as she sits in a chair in the corner of the room. She does not seem to care that her blonde hair is still smeared with blood.

My close aide Daylen is leaning in the doorway to make sure no one will disturb us or eavesdrop on our conversation. He is Jade's future husband. A heavy war ax is on his back, and his expression is grim as he watches Jade.

"And I say we should deal with the offspring of evil while we have the chance."

Quamar grumbles as she has her eyes fixed on the child.

"No! No one's going to harm you any more than that bastard has already done!"

Valda pulls the sleepy boy closer to her chest.

Healer Laney drops her wooden staff in frustration. She used it to pull the boy's tongue away.

"Usually I have to stop the kids from moving! But he's so tired that he wouldn't squirm if you dropped him on the floor. So be quiet, Valda!"

Laney belongs to our family and she is a reliable person with brown hair and a round face.

"Sorry."

Valda begins to stroke the boy's hair as he looks down at the ground. Laney grabs the boy's jaw and opens it as she opens her mouth with a glowing expression. The child does not resist.

I can't help it. I feel uncomfortable while watching.

"Are you sure it's okay to treat the boy like this? He killed that black mage in the blink of an eye. Don't irritate the child."

Laney looks at me and selects a small glass marble from her toolkit, which begins to glow in various colors as soon as it touches the boy.

"Maybe you should take a look at Jade or Valda instead?"

Daylen grumbles.

Valda shakes her head.

"I'm fine! He healed me completely."

Laney points behind herself to Jade.

"She's completely fine. Just a few bruises. And Valda is healthier than ever. I'm more worried about the boy. That means if he really was summoned like you said."

Valda shakes her head vehemently.

"He wasn't drafted! Something went wrong and when the black magician put the embryo in the circle, it just started growing until it was as it is now."

Laney pulls a large round glass from her tools and holds it in front of the boy. Its innards are visible through the glass and I look at it from afar. I saw a lot of goth in the cave.

Quamar's eyes focus on the amulet around my wife's neck.

"Then why can you control it with that?"

Her eyes turn to Jade.

"And how did he resurrect her? No one ever came back after a black mage took his soul. The child has been touched by something that does not belong in this world!"

"He's not evil."

Jade's voice causes everyone to stop and Daylen leaves his post to take his fiancée's hand from him. She continues, "And I didn't come back. He... It stopped me from leaving. There were others with me. And when that wizard died, everyone was relieved to be freed. I wanted to go with them... But then there was this calm light. He said it wasn't too late and that I should never give up."

His eyes turned to the sleeping boy who hangs in Valda's arms.

"Maybe I was dreaming."

Laney sighs and drops the vision glass onto the table with her tools.

"He's fine. There's nothing more to say. A perfectly healthy child. Age between eight months and one year. And according to the blood proof, he is the son of Valda and Yoran. I don't know of any way to cheat this test. And he has exceptional magical talent."

She puts the staff in her hand again and it begins to glow once more.

"Congratulations. It's probably best if we limit his mana pool until we're sure he doesn't have an obnoxious personality. Children shouldn't have that power."

Quarma grumbles.

"Most adults I know shouldn't have their powers. What would a child born by a black ritual do to him?"

Suddenly, Valda's expression changes.

"Shut up, Quarma! I am the clan leader. My son stays! If you don't like it, you can leave."

Quarma tightens his staff tighter.

"Dear daughter, I don't think you have enough influence to oust the former clan leader."

Valda smiles at her.

"Do you want to test me?"

After several moments of looking at each other, Quarma looks away.

Daylen steps forward.

"Valda, it's good that you've recovered, but maybe you should get some sleep. I don't believe anyone can go through such an experience unaffected."

Valda looks at him.

"I've been affected! I was cut open like cattle and had the first few months with my son stolen from me! Go and talk to the others who saved me. Make a proper story or persuade them to keep their mouths shut. If a word comes out, I'll see to it that some heads roll!"

"With... As you wish."

He arches.

Valda turns to me.

"And you'll use all your resources to sweep the entire incident under the rug!"

I nod.

"There's nothing I wouldn't do for you."

Meanwhile, Laney mixed a bottle of a black substance and began painting a set of runes on the boy's neck.

"I'll teach you the seal later. This time I'm going to apply the stamp myself. Hahahaha! A cute boy with magical abilities. There is only one wizard for three women. And there may be only a few men who are powerful in the entirety of Nict. The other families will try everything in their power to introduce you to their daughters. You could get a valuable alliance with one of the other great clans."

Her eyes begin to sparkle.

"Or we can keep it to ourselves to strengthen the lineage. I think there's a branch family with a daughter of a suitable age."

The healer begins to drool.

"Forget about it. There hasn't been a man of our blood with such a strong hereditary disposition to magic in a long time. We must help it and freeze the prize to preserve it for our future generations."

Valda forces a smile on her face.

"There is still time to think about the possibilities and their consequences."

I nod. Laney is definitely weird when it comes to topics like this.

"You must be more practical. Well, I'm not the head of the family."

Laney purses her lips.

"Here! Properly sealed! Please come back if there are any problems."

Valda yawns and stands up.

"I'm going to sleep then. I'll see you tomorrow."

*****

"I still need some signatures dear."

I call Valda who is sitting on the porch of our mansion.

"It took me all night to let the old documents about the incident disappear and have new ones forged. I faked a birth certificate myself and inserted it into the current library. The thief I paid thought I was stupid when I told him he has to break into a high-security building to put a document there instead of stealing something."

"I think it's a very, very good way to do it," he opened a man!" he said.

Valda stabs the boy with the spoon like a dagger. She's hesitantly trying to feed the boy a white mass. It is the liver of a grassland lizard.

I frowned.

"I didn't want to eat that even when I was little. My mother told me I had to persuade myself with sweets."

Valda raises an eyebrow and grabs the boy's jaw, forcing the spoon into his mouth.

"Laney said boys her age have to eat this to stay healthy and grow properly."

The child grimaces, but Valda pushes another spoon into her mouth mercilessly. Five minutes later, the bowl with the liver is empty.

Then she puts the boy in a park.

"Stay."

She tells him to stand still. I give her a pen and she starts signing the documents.

"Oh, that's right! We have to give it a name."

I blink.

"Yes, of course. But isn't there even more than enough time? Children and their names are officially recognized at the age of five."

"I've actually thought about a set of possibilities. What do you think of Andur, Ascathon, Angrod, Auren, Acton, Asceron..."

Her list goes on, but I stop listening in the middle and sneak out of the flowerbed door with ease.

It's a tricky blockage and I didn't expect a child to be able to understand the mechanism. The boy then goes out into the garden and heads towards the stables. I just stand there, unable to deal with what I've seen.

"...Arduin..."

"Darling?"

"…Azir…"

"My dear!"

"Yes?"

I point to the stables.

"He ran away! To the stables! It's dangerous there for a child."

Valda shrugs.

"No problem. In fact, I chose this place to teach him."

"Teach him?"

Valda signs another page.

"Yes. To follow my commands. That's something he has to learn as early as possible."

I take the first stack of papers back.

"Why don't you just use the amulet to command it?"

I point to the artifact around his neck.

Valda shakes her head vehemently.

"That would drive him away completely. Wearing the amulet would only create distrust between us. He has to realize that while my commands may bother him, they will be to teach him. And he has to learn that his mother is a safe haven ."

***Nict State Free City, Tri***

*** I ***

I walked away from the scary woman! At first I thought she had adopted me or something. But then she brought me to that other woman who tortured me all night with her equipment! I just fell unconscious at some point.

And today I wake up and she's forcing this weird thing down my throat! Restricting my magic! What the hell did they do to me?

At least I ran away while she wasn't paying attention. Could it be that Little Black was the good guy in the story and Mrs. Sacrifice is the bad guy? Did I misunderstand something? But for some strange reason she didn't wear the amulet. That was your mistake.

I go as fast as I can until I reach a stable with black horses inside. At least they look like horses. I remember my old world where you can ride 'em. I walk closer until I reach the fence. Maybe I can use them to escape?

Now that I look at them, I have doubts. They are very large. I'll never be able to run away in one of them. And there are horns on their foreheads. Are they unicorns?

In the center of the stable is a pillar with sacks. They are out of the nets and have been filled with firewood. Any kind of food? But it's too loud for horses. Now that I think about it, isn't the fence a little too tall too?

Then a large bird with a leather skin perches on the pillar and begins to pick up the firewood. It's something like a bat. So is the food for those birds? But why would you feed these things?

The bird looks up and closes its eyes on me. They look hungry... And the bird is twice my size. It jumps into the air and slides to me.

"No! No! No! I'm not food!"

I look around, but there's no way to run out and no opportunity to hide.

Suddenly, one of the horses jumps out and snatches the bird from the sky. The horse's mouth opened much wider than I remember them being able to and revealed a set of sharp teeth.

The large bird squeaks and pecks at the horse, but to no effect. The horse is holding the bird and manages to stabilize its control of it.

Then the horse begins to chew slowly, not worrying about the bird's cries. Soon the bird falls silent and the horse looks at me as he continues to chew, blood running down his neck. A pair of glowing red eyes fixate on me.

I spin and run as fast as I can back the way I came. After a few feet I stumble and fall to the ground, but I get up and start running again as fast as my chubby feet can carry me.

What went through my mind? I'm less than three feet tall, I don't have magic, and I move like a cane! Even the damn birds here see me as food! At the! Forget the bird! The horse to the bird! The horse even the fucking bird and was bigger than me! And I don't know this world. What other nightmares are out there?

Finally I arrive back at the starting point of my adventure. The creepy woman is still talking to the man. Good!

I sneak back into my fenced-in area and close the door behind me.

That's the moment when the woman turns her attention to me.

"You're so handsome and well-behaved!"

She lifts me out of the pen and puts me on her lap.

"And because you stayed, you'll get a reward."

She pushes something on a stick into my mouth and I already expect the bad taste of something inedible.

But it tastes sweet and the bad taste from before disappears from my mouth

... Did I just get rewarded?